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Tender pastry, gooey preserves and an icing glaze create a delightful trio, particularly during colder months. Plums are such an underrated fruit, given their incredible flexibility and taste. To create these pastries, they're simmered with abundant ginger root into a heated spread that is then rolled into an easy yeast dough. Eat warm for maximum pleasure.

Ginger-Infused Plum Buns

Prep 15 min
Soak 30 minutes
Rise 1 hr 30 min+
Oven time 1 hr 30 min
Makes A batch of seven

For the plum jam

• 450 grams of mature plums, stoned and cut into small chunks
• ¾ ounce of ginger, cleaned, skinned and grated
• 160g caster sugar

Pastry ingredients

• 11 ounces of high-protein flour, with additional for sprinkling
• 40g caster sugar
• 1½ tsp rapid-rise yeast
• ½ teaspoon of sea salt
• 100 milliliters of warm milk
• 3 tablespoons of heated water
• 1 large egg, plus 1 extra egg for the egg wash
• 40 grams of room-temperature butter
• 100 grams of powdered sugar

Begin with the preserves. Combine plums, ginger and sugar in a broad pan, give them a good stir and leave to macerate for 30 minutes. Place a small plate in the freezer – this will help test the jam's readiness.

Bring the plum mixture to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 15-18 minutes, until the fruit becomes tender. To verify the preserve's consistency, drop a small amount onto the cold saucer, allow it to sit briefly, then press with your finger – when folds appear, it's prepared; if it doesn't, cook for a couple of minutes longer, then test again. Transfer the jam to a flat container to cool.

To make the pastry, combine flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a mixer bowl using the kneading hook, and blend for a short time. Form a depression in the center, pour in the milk, water, egg and softened butter, and knead on medium-low for seven to eight minutes, when the dough becomes uniform and somewhat adhesive. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1-2 hours, until it almost doubles.

Knock out the air, then turn out the dough on to a lightly floured surface. Shape into an approximate 30x45cm rectangle, orienting the narrower side forward. Distribute 120 grams of plum jam across the surface; the quantity might seem limited, but have faith: with excessive jam, the dough becomes difficult to handle, and the preserve will ooze out in the oven. Beginning at a long edge, neatly wrap the dough, then slice off the ends and divide into seven pieces. The cleanest method involves using dental floss: slide a piece underneath the log, raise both sides, cross them over, then tug.

Arrange the pastries on a sizable baking sheet covered with parchment paper, spacing them slightly apart. Cover gently with plastic wrap and let rise for half an hour more, until swollen. During this time, preheat the oven to 190C/375F.

Coat the pastries with egg mixture, then cook for 18-22 minutes, until golden. As the buns rest, blend confectioners' sugar with 15ml water until a thick, smooth paste forms. Drizzle over the warm buns before serving.