You can make cobbler with almost any fruit that stands up to cooking – peach, berry, apple – but plums are one of my favourites, because heat really concentrates their gloriously sweet and sour flavour.

Halve and stone the plums with a small, sharp knife, cutting off and retaining any flesh clinging to the stones in underripe fruit.

Toss the plum flesh in the light brown sugar (white sugar would also work, if you prefer), then leave to sit and macerate for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, to help draw out the fruit’s juices.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, and butter a medium baking dish. Drain the plums in a sieve held over a bowl to catch all the juices, then tip the fruit into the greased dish.

Put the cornflour (or use a scant tablespoon of plain flour instead) in a small bowl, then whisk in the plum juices and lemon juices, until smooth.

Sprinkle the fruit with ground cinnamon or another sweet spice – nutmeg, ginger, mixed spice, green cardamom or star anise all spring to mind, or add a dash of vanilla extract to the plum juice mixture – then pour over the bowl of juices.

Dot the fruit all over with butter, then bake for about 15 minutes, until softened. While the fruit is baking, make the cobbler topping.

Put the flour, optional cornmeal (this gives a lovely flavour and slightly gritty texture, and can often be found on the world food aisle of supermarkets or in wholefood shops; if you don’t use it, make up the weight with more flour), baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl or food processor.

Add the sugar and a good pinch of salt to the flour mix, then whisk or whizz until well combined.

Cut the cold butter into cubes, then rub it into the mix with your fingertips, or pulse, until the mixture appears crumb-like. Take care not to work it any more than necessary – the topping should be soft, not chewy.

Beat in just enough buttermilk to make a smooth dough. Divide the dough into balls about the size of a scoop of ice-cream, then flatten them slightly and arrange out on top of the plums, spacing them out because they will expand as they bake.

Sprinkle the dough with the demerara sugar – again, you could use white sugar here, if you prefer – then bake for 30-40 minutes, until the topping is golden and well risen and any fruit you can see beneath is bubbling.

Remove, leave to rest and cool for 15 minutes, then serve with ice-cream, creme fraiche, custard or double cream.