Name: How to - Plum Cake
Yield: 1 9 inch cake
Ingredients: 1 cup salted butter, softened (plus more for tin); 3/4 cup white sugar (plus more for tin); grated rind of 1 lemon; 8 plums; 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour; 1/2 cup ground almonds; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp cinnamon; 1/4` tsp nutmeg; 1/8 tsp ground ginger; 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract); 2 large eggs; 1/4 cup plain yogurt; juice of half a lemon; 2 tbsp turbinado sugar (or use light brown or even white sugar)

How to – Plum Cake

Plums are my favourite fruit to cook with. I buy them almost any time I see them in the store. I love them so much that this past August I canned some in case I couldn’t find any in February. They are tart and jammy with a really beautiful colour. I have made so many different types of plum cakes (and muffins, and loaves, and crumbles, and pies) that I decided it was time to develop a plum cake recipe of my own. This cake is quick and easy to make. You can have it in the oven within 30 minutes and none of the ingredients are going to break the bank. This cake is delicious after a meal, with an afternoon cup of tea, for breakfast, or for a late night snack. In fact, I’m hard pressed to think of a time of day when you couldn’t eat this cake. I’m eating it right now.

CourseBreakfast, Dessert, Snacks

Servings

19 inch cake

Servings

19 inch cake

Ingredients

1cup salted butter, softenedplus more for tin
3/4cup white sugarplus more for tin
grated rind of 1 lemon
8 plums
1 1/4cup all purpose flour
1/2cup ground almonds
1tsp baking powder
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/4`tsp nutmeg
1/8tsp ground ginger
1/4tsp vanilla bean pasteor 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/4cup plain yogurt
juice of half a lemon
2tbsp turbinado sugaror use light brown or even white sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°
Butter a 9 inch loose bottomed tart tin. Dust with white sugar .
Halve and pit the plums. Select the prettiest 5 plum halves and slice into wedges (5 wedges per half) and set aside. These will go on top of the cake. Dice the remaining plums. Set aside.
In a small bowl combine the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Whisk to combine and eliminate lumps. Set aside.
In the bowl for your stand mixer (or in a bowl with an electric hand mixer) put the butter, lemon zest and sugar. Beat on med-high until light and fluffy, approx 4 minutes (a few minutes longer if you are using a hand mixer). Scrape down the sides as needed throughout mixing.
Add then vanilla and then, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
Reduce speed to low and add the dry ingredients in several additions. Then add the yogurt and the lemon juice. The batter should be fairly thick.
With a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the diced plums. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
Arrange the plum wedges in a decorative way on the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.
Place the tin on a baking sheet (in case the fruit gets bubbly) and bake for 60-75 minutes until the cake is golden brown and the cake has a bit of spring when touched. A toothpick inserted might get plum on it but should not have cake crumbs. It is a moist cake.
Cool cake before serving.