This year is bringing an unexpectedly early season for soft fruit. I was thrilled when my friends at Elwell Fruit farm, Bridport, came to see me armed with the most glorious plums. I preserved some, froze a few and made this gorgeous sponge with roast plums.
. – Lizzie
Ingredients
- 200g butter
- 250g demerara sugar (plus extra
- for topping)
- 4 eggs
- 300g flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
For the sauce
- 75g walnuts, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
Method
- Place the plums in a baking tray and roast them in the oven (190ºC/gas mark 5) for about 30 minutes until softened. Tip them into a sieve, over a bowl, and leave them to cool, collecting the juice to make a quick sauce.
- Once cool, remove the stones from the plums (just squish ‘em out – it’s strangely satisfying!).
- Line a 22cm square cake tin with baking parchment.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and demerara sugar, until light and fluffy. Add each egg, beating well in between each one (you can add a tablespoon of flour if the eggs curdle).
- Fold in the dry ingredients.
- Spread half the mixture into the prepared tin, and cover with an even layer of the stoned plums and finish with the last of the cake mix.
- Scatter the walnuts over the top, and bake in the oven at 180ºc / gas mark 4 for 45 minutes until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean. As soon as the cake is out of the oven, sprinkle demerara sugar over the top.
- Meanwhile put the reserved plum juice with the caster sugar in a small pan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.
- Serve in slices with a drizzle of plum ’sauce’ and a dollop of clotted cream!
From her tiny bakery in West Dorset, Lizzie Baking Bird creates sweet and savoury bakes. You’ll find her at Dorset’s farmers’ markets and shows. A member of the Guild of Food Writers, Lizzie has won numerous Great Taste Awards. Find her on: lizziebakingbird.co.uk
