The plum is the fruit that rings autumn in for me. And the ones I really like and look forward to baking with are the oval shaped purple plums, as opposed to the round yellowish ones you seem to get everywhere. In my opinion, the purple ones have more flavour – maybe not as sweet as the yellow ones but overall tasting more of a real garden plum.

Back in Germany the oval, dark purple ones, the “Zwetschgen” are much more common. In England I struggle to find them but think that big Damsons are the nearest thing to it. And the other day, I actually saw some very “Zwetschgen”-like plums in my local greengrocer:

I got very excited and thought I’d share the pleasure with you by giving you a quick plum compote recipe. This compote would go well with all sorts of brunch treats: waffles, french toast (hmmm…now thinking I should have made french toast!) and also as a dessert, with vanilla ice cream. But I had seen this recipe for oat pancakes on another blog (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/oatmeal-pancakes-10000002011047/)  and wanted to try them out, thinking they would make a great base for the plum compote.

I had never heard of oat pancakes before but figured, oat based porridge is a very healthy breakfast (slow release energy and all that) so oat based pancakes must somehow make a healthier pancake.

And I’m glad I did, as they made a substantial brunch without being stodgy and not as fatty as french toast would have been, I guess. The oats make them more filling than an ordinary pancake, so if nothing else you’ll probably eat one or two less than of normal pancakes, so maybe the healthy theory is right!

Try them out and let me know what you think.

First for the Quick Plum Compote (which will make more than you need for the pancakes and that’s a good thing, so you can have some the next day too).
You’ll need:

• 500g plums
• 50g sugar
• 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (or water, if you have no lemons in the house – but they add a little extra something)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cinnamon stick

Half and de-stone the plums and add all ingredients to a put and slowly put the heat on underneath it. As the juices are coming out of the plums, the syrup gets fruiter and thicker.

Keep the pot on a low simmer until the plums are soft but not falling apart; about 15 mins. Set aside and let it cool down a little.

Now, for the Oatmeal Pancakes, slightly amended from: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/oatmeal-pancakes-10000002011047
For 2-3 portions, you’ll need:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup porridge oats (not the big ones but the ones for quick cooking, that ones that broken down a bit already)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 egg
• oil for baking the pancakes

Combine all dry ingredients in one big bowl, so that’s the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and pinch of salt.

In another bowl mix buttermilk, butter, and egg with a whisk, then add the liquid mixture to the dry flour mix, stirring just until moist.

Heat a pan with a little oil and spoon about 2 1/2 tablespoons batter per pancake onto it. Cook until bottoms are browned, which should be when bubbles are coming up on the top (maybe check in between, so they don’t turn dark brown), then flip over and cook until the other side is browned.

Serve with the compote and enjoy…