Do use freestone plums (the ones available in the autumn and also known as “prune plums” where I live). The cling plums that are normally eaten raw, in the summer, are not sweet and juicy enough when cooked this way.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Put rack second slot down from the top. Wash the plums or apricots and dry. Cut the plums or apricots in half. Remove the stones.
Butter slices of bread; place them on a buttered shallow baking pan. On each slice of bread, put three or four plum or apricot halves, depending on size. Fill the hollows of the fruit with sugar; vanilla sugar is particularly nice with apricots. Press the fruit well down on the bread.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the bread is crisp, the fruit soft and sticky, the sugar almost caramelized.
Serve in bowls with cream if desired. The croûtons have to be eaten like canapés, difficult to do with cream on top. So it can be messy.
Serves 2
Elizabeth David, Summer Cooking, 1955, 1965
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