Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Split plums and remove seeds. Place skin side up in a baking dish. Split vanilla bean in half and scrape out seeds, mix with sugar until distributed throughout. Pour evenly over plums and add vanilla pod. Bake until plums are very soft. This may take 1 hour, depending on the variety of the plum. Check every 15 minutes.

Remove the fruit and reduce the liquid in a saucepan until it is a syrup-y consistency. The fruit and sauce may be prepared the day before serving.

Lemon Pound Cake: Cream butter and 4 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl and add egg yolks, scraping between additions. Add lemon juice and zest, scraping again. Add sifted dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk. Whip egg whites with 4 ounces sugar until soft peak, and fold into batter. Scoop into prepared pans and bake until an inserted skewer shows no remaining batter on the skewer.

Do not open oven for the first 20 minutes or cakes may collapse. Cool slightly in pans, then turn over onto parchment paper to fully cool. May be frozen after completely cool, wrapped well in plastic wrap.

Assembly: Cut cake into slices. Warm plums and sauce. Place cake on serving plate, arrange 3 plum halves, and some of the sauce. Just before serving, add a scoop of ginger ice cream (or your favorite).

This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The FN chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.