I have been looking for a plum and almond cake recipe since I went to Tasmania in 2006 and my friend Marion made such a good one it has been haunting me ever since. Each summer when the plums are about to fall from the trees I reminisce and vaguely look for a recipe that hits the spot.
The recipe for the cake featured above is glorious and comes from this month's 'M & S Adventures in Food' which not only contains great recipes but stunning and inspiring photography.
When I read through the ingredients however I did have to 'tweak' this and that. For a start I spiked my cake with a shot of almond essence. The flavour of almonds works well with the sharpness of cooked plums and to make the cake gleam I brushed it with warm honey which added to the orchard theme of this cake. Bees are so important in the pollination of fruit trees.
This is a good recipe template for a cake bedecked with slices of fruit such as apricots, figs and prunes. And the cake is easy to make. I think I might try it with sliced apples dribbled with Calvados flvoured syrup.
I am so in love with this beautiful cake I went to town on the photographs and took some shots both inside and out. I do hope you like this great autumn cake. Joan x
Buttermilk plum cake with a warm honey glaze
Ingredients
125g soft unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g caster sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten and at room temperature
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g ground almonds
1 tsp almond essence
100ml buttermilk
4 plums, stoned and cut into slices
2 tbsp runny honey
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Butter and line a 20 - 22cm cake tin with silicone baking paper. Beat the butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the egg. Sieve together the flour and the baking powder and fold into the butter, sugar and egg mixture together with the ground almonds. Add the almond essence to the buttermilk and gradually fold this into the cake mixture. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and arrange the segments of plums in concentric rings around the top of the cake. Bake in the oven for 40 - 50 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake come out clean. As the cake cools, heat the honey (10 seconds in a microwave) and brush over the surface of the cake. Remove the cake from the tin and allow to cool on a rack.
