*Buttermilk Plum Cake

We’re stone’s deep into berry season now, and while I love a bowl of strawberries and ice cream as much as the next person, cherries, raspberries and plums for me are where it’s at (although – boring fact – technically plums aren’t botanical berries, they’re actually “drupes”).  Plums are so underrated, but I love them for their slightly sour skins and juicy insides, and they’re even better when baked into a cake.  Even Bungle loves plums 🙂

Anyway, M&S got in touch recently and asked if I’d like to try baking with some of their berries.  They’re a huge fan of the Great British Berry (not to be confused with Mary Berry who is also great) – they’ve had relationships with some of their berry suppliers for over forty years and it absolutely shows; the damson plums they’ve got on offer at the moment are absolutely banging.  This plum cake is incredibly simple to make and turned out so well when I served it up at a recent barbecue that I made it again a few days later.  It’s a little bit like an upside down cake, except you bake it upright!  It also stays lovely and moist for a few days because of the buttermilk and juice from the sliced plums… if you can resist scoffing it all at once, that is! 😉

Buttermilk Plum Cake

Ingredients

• 125g Butter
• 100g Plain Flour
• 125g Caster Sugar
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 50g Ground Almonds
• 100ml Buttermilk
• 4 Ripe Plums stoned and thinly sliced
• (Single Cream to serve)

1. Heat the oven up to 170°, then grease a 20cm cake tin, dusting it with a little flour.
2. Hold back 1 tbsp of sugar, then beat the rest with the butter in a large bowl.  Beat in egg.
3. Sift together the dry ingredients and then fold into the buttercream and egg mix along with the ground almonds.
4. Gently stir in the buttermilk, then pour the mixture into the cake tin.
5. Arrange the sliced plums over the surface, making sure to overlap them as the cake will rise and expand as it bakes.  Sprinkle the surface with the extra sugar, then bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
6. Serve up with fresh single cream. 🙂

Thanks to M&S for the ingredients and for sending this recipe my way – it’s a keeper!  Have a lovely weekend everyone! ❤