Pete’s easy European plum cake

Ingredients

• 170g self-raising flour
• 100g almond meal
• 1 teaspoon (level) baking powder
• 150g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 150g melted butter
• 2 cups milk
• Almond milk as needed
• 15-20 European plums halved, stoned and in a bowl, roughly mixed with a cup of sugar with cinnamon to taste

Method

Make the cake batter by first mixing the sugar and butter together. Add the eggs, one at a time and then the milk. Gradually mix in the flour and baking powder, constantly adding enough almond milk to create a thick, sloppy batter.

Pour into a 30 x 24 cm (or larger) baking tin lined with baking paper, if necessary levelling the batter. Push the sugared and spiced plums into the surface, cup side upwards and sprinkle with all remaining sugar, cinnamon and plum juices from the bowl. Bake in a hot (160-180°C) oven until a skewer comes out clean (about an hour). Cut into squares and serve warm or cold with runny custard and whipped cream. Or just eat cold chunks as delicious, sweet, gloriously-stodgy finger-snacks.

*Apple, pear, clingstone peach, quince or pineapple pieces may be substituted for the plums.

In the July/August 2014 issue of Organic Gardener, Peter Cundall describes his addiction to growing and eating plums and how he gets carried away making Eastern European plum cakes. Peter wrote: “I was given my recipe by a wonderful old lady, a Jewish refugee, many years ago and I still use it today.

“She wagged her finger at me saying ‘Peter, you must only use European plums – the big purple ones are best’. She was right of course but I try any free-stone varieties – even prunes.*

Naturally I cheat a bit, substituting at least one third of the flour with almond meal and even adding enough almond milk to make the batter sloppier.”