Blood plum clafoutis

1.For vanilla cream, combine thickened cream, sugar and vanilla seeds in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves, then cool slightly. Place double cream in a bowl, gradually whisk in vanilla cream mixture until smooth and combined. Refrigerate until set (2-3 hours).

2.Preheat oven to 150C. For spiced plums, bring sugar, spices and 300ml water to the boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stir until sugar dissolves. Add plums, remove from heat, cover and stand until skins split (3-5 minutes). Remove plums from syrup using a slotted spoon. When cool enough to handle, peel, halve, remove stones and cut flesh into wedges. Divide plums among six 200ml-capacity moulds. Return syrup to heat, bring to the boil, cook over medium-high heat until syrupy and reduced by half (10-12 minutes), cool completely and set aside.

3.Whisk eggs, sugar and flour in a bowl until just combined (do not overwork). Add cream, stir gently to combine. Pour batter over plums, bake until just set (15-20 minutes). Serve immediately with vanilla cream and plum syrup.