Baked Spiced Aromatic Plums

This is the recipe I most often cook from this book, and is basically Plums in Mulled Wine. It makes a good alternative to Christmas Pudding as it has the appropriate spiciness but is a much lighter finale to a heavy meal (my family usually has the Christmas Pudding on Boxing Day, following a less substantial main course). Spices can be adjusted to taste - I usually omit the star anise and add the zest of half an orange (and sometimes the juice as well - this makes for a nice flavour but clouds the juices). I also prefer to add the cinnamon in stick form rather than ground.