Duck with Spiced Maple Plums

It's still February but I couldn't wait for September to make this dish. The recipe was on the "September" page in Waitrose's Food 2020 Calendar, when plums are in season. Still Waitrose sells plums now. They are imported from South Africa, which make a sense. I halved the ingredients for two people instead of four. I didn't have enough maple syrup, so I added J's crème de cassis. When the plums were baked, the syrup in the baking dish looked already thick enough. So I didn't need to cook the syrup separately. Cooking duck breasts perfectly has been a challenge for me. This time I wanted a video of how to cook duck breasts by Gordon Ramsay twice and followed what he was doing. Starting with a cold pan and finishing in the oven weren't new for me but timing for each step was what I wanted to learn. The result was perhaps the best duck breast that I have ever cooked! The spiced plums were wonderful with the duck. Served with pink grapefruits, avocado and fennel salad, the Monday supper became a feast!