On a plate my father brought

  to me from his last trip to Russia

When I first started researching Christmas symbols and traditions, I wondered what a "plum pudding" 
would taste like. Centuries ago, the King of England's cook put everything he had into a pot for a 
simple feast and made the first plum pudding. The ingredients he used on that occasion are said to 
have formed the basic recipe for plum pudding. Most Christmas recipes contained breadcrumbs 

and raisins and not one had plums! So, for this Christmas, try making 

delicious plum pastries filled with creamy custard. 

Custard powder can be ordered online.

News: This is my "first published" recipe that has also just been featured in the 
OregoN® Fruit Products Holiday Edition 2003 Newsletter/Recipe Journal

www.oregonfruit.com/jindex.html

 - Look for Holiday 2003 

Also, see cookbook below.

Pastry Shells

3 (10 ounce) packages Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Shells

Plum Glaze and Plum Filling

2 (16 1/2 ounce) cans OregoN® Purple Plums in heavy syrup
Reserved syrup from 1 can or a little over 1/2 cup syrup
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon black currant preserves (Hero Swiss Preserves)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Cooks Choice™ Bourbon extract
Dash cinnamon

Custard Filling

1 cup whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Hinds Custard Powder (order from www.proteaimports.com ) 

1.  Pastry shells: Preheat oven to 400˚ degrees.

2.  Place frozen pastry shells on a baking sheet lined with
     parchment paper. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown
     and puffed up. You may have to bake them in two batches so

     allow enough time to bake all the pastries.  

   What could be easier than frozen pastry!

3.  Plum Glaze: Drain plums and reserve the syrup. You should

     have a little over 1/2 cup. Place the syrup in a 1 quart

     saucepan. Stir cornstarch and water in a small bowl and whisk

     into the syrup. Turn heat onto medium and then whisk in

     currant preserves, sugar, bourbon extract and a dash

     cinnamon to add a touch of Christmas spice.

4.  Stir the sauce with the whisk frequently until the sauce is

     thick, dark and purple. It will in fact look more clear as it

     darkens. This makes a beautiful purple glaze.  

Glaze is cooked when it darkens.

5.  Strain the glaze and discard seeds. Cool in the refrigerator.

6.  Custard filling: In a 3-quart saucepan, whisk cream, milk,

     sugar and custard powder. Turn heat onto medium and whisk

     until custard is thick and creamy. Cool in the

     refrigerator/freezer or pour into a ice cream maker bowl and

     stir until completely cooled. This is the fastest method. When

     completely cooled, set a plastic bag or pastry bag in a bowl

     and then spoon in custard.  

 A plastic bag makes a great pastry bag!

7.  Assembling the pastries: Pour the cooled plum glaze into a

     small plastic bag. Set in a dish with ice cubes to cool

     completely. Set the bag of custard in a bowl. Remove the tops

     on the pastries and any uncooked pastry. Snip the corner of

     custard bag and fill pastries halfway with custard. Pit each

     plum carefully to maintain shape and then place on custard.  

    Remove tops and uncooked dough.

8.  Take the plum glaze, snip corner and pipe just enough glaze to

     completely cover plum and custard. Insert "pastry top" into

     edge of custard so it stands upright and insert a sprig of mint.

     These can be easily transported to a party.

     
     Plumy News: Prunes are now called dried plums!

    Makes 18 pastries for a Christmas Party