Chocolate plum jam (plum Nutella)

The recipe for these chocolate plum preserves, commonly called “plum Nutella”, is almost as old as my blog itself, which I started more than ten years ago. Back when I was posting my first shy recipes on Moje Wypieki, this luxurious version of plum preserves was already making the rounds on cooking forums. At the time, living in Wales, I struggled to find the right plums. Every small amount of damsons I managed to get my hands on was priceless, and I savoured them the way people once treasured oranges at Christmas. When Polish shops finally appeared in the UK, life became much easier ;). And after moving to England, I found myself surrounded by orchards and fruit farms. So, ladies and gentlemen, this famous recipe for plum Nutella has finally made its way onto Moje Wypieki!

P.S. If you’ve been wondering the same thing I did for years – no, it doesn’t taste like Nutella! It’s simply delicious chocolate plum butter :).

Makes 2 jars of 220 ml each.

Ingredients for chocolate plum jam:

• 1 kg damson plums
• ¾ cup sugar (or to taste)
• vanilla extract or vanilla paste, optional
• 70 g cocoa powder

Pit the plums and place them in a wide, heavy-bottomed saucepan together with the sugar, vanilla and cocoa powder. Stir and cook briefly until the mixture comes to a boil. Once the fruit has released its juices and the sugar has dissolved, blend everything with a hand blender until smooth. Cook over low heat, uncovered, for several hours, stirring occasionally. A batch made with 1 kg of plums usually takes about 1 hour, while larger batches may require more time, until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. It’s often easiest to spread the cooking over two days.

How to check if the plum butter is ready? Place a small plate in the freezer. Spoon a little of the hot plum spread onto the chilled plate. If it sets and forms a skin that wrinkles when touched, it’s ready.

Sterilise the jars (either with boiling water or in an oven preheated to 100°C). Fill the jars with the hot plum spread and seal tightly.

Pasteurising:

Line the bottom of a large saucepan with kitchen towels. Place the jars inside and pour in boiling water until it reaches about ¾ of the height of the jars. The water and jars should be at a similar temperature to prevent the jars from cracking. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove the jars and leave to cool completely. Some people also turn the jars upside down and wrap them in blankets, leaving them overnight.

Note: If the boiling plum spread is poured into sterilised jars and sealed immediately, additional pasteurisation is not necessary.

Enjoy!