Testing - Baked Spiced Plums

We now have loads of plum trees - Myrobalan, Japanese, Italian, Damson, Victoria. Summers in the Gulf Islands of BC tend to be very dry, and this year we also had a drought and lots of heat. Last week, just as the plums were starting to ripen, it rain and rained and rained again. Which is really great. And it also means that, like tomatoes, plums, with their thin skins, will take up this sudden abundance of water and fill the fruit until the skin splits. So now I'm rushing trying to find ways of cooking with or preserving the delicious fruit.
Last week, we had dinner at Peter and Lisa's and they served us stewed plums. They were delicious. Therefore, I was inspired to develop a recipe of my own. These three in particular had bits I wanted to combine.

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/baked-spiced-red-wine-plums
http://eattherightstuff.squarespace.com/blog/2009/12/2/spiced-aromatic-plums.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/plums-in-red-wine-recipe.html

6 medium (about 18 oz) plums, halved and stoned
2 bay leaves
1 star anise
3 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
4 cardamom pods
1 cup red wine, with berry and chocolate notes, like a Shiraz or Garnacha
2 - 3 Tbsps (up to ½ cup?) of (honey or brown sugar?)
vanilla ice cream

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Halve the plums and remove the stones. Place in a single layer in a lidded ovenproof dish just large enough to hold them, cut sides down. Combine the wine, spices and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the plums.
3. Cover and bake. Depending on the the ripeness of the plums, this can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour - the softer the plum, the faster the cooking time. Test with a skewer for donness. Serve the plums warm, at room temperature or chilled with a little of the poaching liquid over vanilla ice-cream.