Wash the plums, cut into halves and remove the pits.
Chop the dried figs finely. Make sure to discard the hard stem.
Add chopped figs, orange juice, sherry, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom to a pot and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes (with lid on) until the figs are soft.
Add the plums to the pot and cook for another 10 minutes over low heat (lid on again).
Remove the cloves and the cardamom, and serve the compote hot or warm.