Plum & Almond Cake
Ingredients
Serves 8-10 people
Cake
- Roughly 12 plums (550g) stoned and quartered
- 185g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 175g golden caster sugar
- 2 largish eggs (beaten)
- 75ml oat or dairy milk
- 125 plain flour
- 125g self raising flour
- Pinch of salt
- 100g ground almonds (or breadcrumbs if nut allergies are a concern)
Topping
- 50g unsalted butter
- 50g golden caster sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 beaten egg
Directions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 180°c
- Use a 23cm cake tin – springform or regular – greased and lined with greaseproof paper.
- Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add milk to the beaten eggs and then add gradually to your butter and sugar mix and mix/beat well.
- Sift the flour into the mix in three batches with a pinch of salt and then fold in lightly with a metal spoon until incorporated.
- Scrape into the tin and sprinkle the ground almonds or breadcrumbs on the surface (this helps prevent the plums from sinking).
- Add the quartered plums cut side facing up starting from the outside of the tin and work towards the centre.
Topping
- Melt the butter in a small pan, stir in the sugar and cinnamon, remove from heat for five mins.
- Add the beaten egg and mix.
- Pour over the surface of the cake.
- This will create a lovely glaze and prevent the plums from drying out.
- Cook for about an hour and 10 minutes – use a skewer to check if it needs longer – when the skewer comes out clean, it’s baked.
- Leave the cake to cool for at least 10 minutes in the tin, then remove and cool on a wire rack
- Enjoy warm with a dollop of yogurt. Leftover cake wrapped in foil can be warmed through at 180°c for ten mins or so.
A little more about our contributing chef – Sian Coakley. In the 90s and 2000s, Sian worked in film in Hong Kong. After 20 years there, she wanted a change and left Hong Kong for London to become a self taught cook. Sian set up her own catering business in 1999 and began by catering small events for interior design companies and businesses such as SCP and Roche Bobois, she then began catering private events and receptions for central government departments including the foreign office and even Number 10. Sian came to St Leonards in 2021 and met Stephanie, the owner of Graze, who needed a head chef. Sian applied for and secured the role and is currently the head chef at Graze. From the beginning, Sian has championed vegetarian, seasonal, fresh ingredients. Alongside her role at Graze, Sian continues to cater small private events in the Hastings area and London specialising in canapes, small plates and, of course, baking!
Instagram @Coakley_Cooks
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