Plum Cake

I’m not much of a fruit-person really but it’s hard to ignore fruit when they’re growing everywhere; and Kiwis don’t generally care if their yard is carpeted with fallen fruit just rotting away. So what to do with a bagful of plums from Jong’s garden and from the neighbours at Wattle Downs? Make a plum cake.

This recipe- and there are a million recipes for this cake- is from Chelsea Sugar’s Recipe Club Bake-Off winner and uses almond meal which I think gives this cake (and fig cake which I’ve done before) a lighter, airier texture which I like.

• Ingredients:
  10 dark red plums
  3 Tbsp white Sugar
  300g butter
  1½ cups white Sugar (I only used 3/4 cup)
  3 eggs
  Zest of 1 orange (I didn’t have an orange so didn’t include this)
  1 tsp vanilla essence
  ½ cup milk
  1½ cups flour
  1 cup ground almonds
  1 tsp baking powder
  Icing Sugar for sprinkling

• Method

  Preheat oven 180°C and grease a 26cm tin. Cut plums, discard stones and put into a bowl with 3 Tbsp sugar. Set aside.
  
  Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time and then mix in zest and vanilla. Stir in milk, flour, almonds and baking powder.
  
  Spread into prepared tin and then place plums over the top. Bake for 1 hour.
  Sprinkle icing sugar on top when cool