At this time of year, plums are one of 67's favourite cake toppings.
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| Juicy colourful purple plums buried in nutty crumble on a tender sponge |
Sadly, ripen-at-home punnets are no longer as budget-friendly as they have been over recent years but they are still cheaper than standard plums and represent good value.
A 400g punnet of purple plums from M&S costs £1.90 (compared to £2.50+) but contains at least 10 shiny fat specimens. It's enough for two 18 cm/7inch cakes.
This Plum Crumble recipe, dairy-free and made with organic spelt flour, produces a moist cake with a tender crumb. If budget is your concern, conventional wheat flour and butter will save a few pennies.
The recipe is not difficult to follow but preparing as much as you can before starting mixing makes
life easier.
Cost: £4'ish for organic spelt flour, less for wheat
Makes: 1 x 7 inch/18 cm cake; 6-8 servings
Ingred:
Cake:
142g/5oz plant butter, measured when solid but softened (67 prefers Tomor brand, from Kosher outlets and online)
142 gm/5oz sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
150g/5.2 oz white spelt flour + 46g/1.6oz wholemeal spelt OR 196.5g/7oz plain white spelt flour.
1 tsp bkg pwder
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla
100g/3.5 oz soft brown sugar
1 generous tbsp cardomum
Topping:
6 small plums
1 tbsp cognac or grape juice
1 generous tbsp cardomum
seeds from 3 cardamom pods (opt)
1/3 cup chopped nuts
Method:
Cake:
This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises. It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.
- Generously butter an 7"x 10"/18cm x 26 cm rectangle (used here) or an 9"/23 cm square or round baking dish. Put a strip of greaseproof paper down the centre of a square/rectangle or cut out a circle of greaseproof paper to cover the bottom of the round pan
- Wash 5-6 smallish plums; halve & stoned them; cut in 8 wedges; pour over cognac; set aside
- Mix crumble ingredients apart from nuts
- Pre-heat oven to 350f/180c/gas 4
- Beat fat and sugar until light and pale, about 5 mins (don't stint on this step)
- Add eggs one by one beating well after each. (The batter will look curdled but comes together later.)
- Add vanilla. Blend.
- Sift flour, baking powder & salt and mix well. Add dry ingredients in thirds, beating after each addition. Blend well but don't overbeat or the cake will be tough.
- The batter will be very thick; add half to the pan, spread out and level with a spatula or palette knife. Scatter a third of the crumble mix and a amall handful nuts evenly over the top. Swirl a skewer or cocktail stick gently through the batter.
- Carefully dollop remaining batter on top; spread evenly, building up the edges a little
- Mix nuts into remaining crumble mix, spread evenly over the top
- Insert plum wedges just below the surface
- Bake 50-55 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean
- Rest on a baking rack 10-15 mins
- Serve warm or at room temperature
Comments:
'The cake was delicious! Will there be a recipe?' Philosophy tutor
'Excellent plum cake!' WFH techie who ventured out to volunteer
'The plums make it lovely and moist.' Political Agent
'I like it!' Underground driver/political activist
Tips:
- Check cake at 45mins; depending on size of pan and your oven, some cakes will cook faster than others
- Replace cardomum with cinnamon or ginger
- Swedish Apple Cake: Replace plums with fresh chopped apple and replace ginger with cinnamon; when cake is cool, sprinkle with icing sugar
- Plum stones are easily removed with a spoon
- For a thinner cake; a 9 x 11 inch pan works well
More plum desserts on NavBar: Recipes1/Baking...
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This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises. It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.
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