Plum and Almond Crumble Cake

Wednesday 21 April 2010



My local Tesco shop had punnets of home ripening plums on special last weekend for £1 a punnet. Normally I don't buy things like that. Mostly because it takes too long for them to ripen and most of the time they don't ripen at all but go bad anyways . . .



I had in mind this plum cake that I wanted to make though and for that I needed really firm plums.



This is a very unusual cake. You make a crumble mixture in the food processor that you use in the base, filling and topping.



Some of the crumbs get pressed into a baking tin and baked into a lovely buttery crust.



Then you make a frangipane mixture with more of the crumb mixture by beating in some eggs and stuff. This you spread over the buttery baked base. Top with some sliced plums and you bake it some more.



The plums get all soft and sweet and the frangipane mixture bakes up around them. Then you add a final topping of the last of the crumbs which you have mixed with some flaked almonds and you bake it a little longer til golden brown.



It's all you can do to wait until it cools to dig in . . . but wait. It's worth it. Trust me on this. It tastes so much better lukewarm than it does hot. (And it tastes pretty good hot!!)



It is kind of like a tart, but also a cake, and a crumble.



It's all three rolled into one scrummy, moreish bake! Oh my but this is some good!



*Plum and Almond Crumble Cake*
Makes 16 servings
Printable Recipe

It's a Crumble! It's a Cake! It's a Crumble Cake! (Pretty scrummy too!)

250g COLD butter
8 ounces castor sugar, plus a bit extra for sprinkling
10 ounces ground almonds
5 ounces plain flour, plus 1 ounce extra flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra to sprinkle on top
1 tsp baking powder
6 firm plums, stone and cut into sixths
2 ounces flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/Gar 4. Butter an 8 by 12 inch baking tin and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Place the butter, sugar and ground almonds in a food processor. Pulse them together until the mixture resembles a rough crumble. Remove half of this mixture to a bowl and set aside. To the remaining mixture in the processor, add the 5 ounces of flour and whiz this together until it forms a dough. Tip this into the prepared baking tin and press it out evenly, pressing it down well. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

To make the filling, tip the remaining crumble mixture back into the food processor. Add the remaining 1 ounce of flour, the baking powder, the eggs, and the cinnamon. Whiz until it forms a soft batter. Spread this batter over the cooled base.

Top the batter with the prepared plums and sprinkle with a little extra sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 20 minutes.

Mix the remaining crumbs with the flaked almonds. Sprinkle this over top of the baked plums and return to the oven to bake for a further 20 minutes, until golden brown and the batter and plums are thoroughly cooked. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into slices to serve.

12 comments

  1. Marie, it's midnight here and I'm up cooking for my daughter's Confirmation tomorrow. I REALLY shouldn't be sitting here wondering where I can find plums tomorrow.... This looks so good!
    xoxo Pattie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Que buena pinta tiene esta receta. Me la copio para probar. Un saludo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Marie ~ You had me at ALMONDS, as I love them in anything....but this....WOW! Can't wait to try it. Your pictures look so delicious and it's a real TALENT to make food shots SO appealing! Have a Happy Wednesday! xx P&H

    PS: I LOVE your playlist : )

    ReplyDelete
  4. Delicious Marie - I love crumble cake! Enjoy your day xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks like another blue ribbon to me Marie:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. SCRUMPTIOUS! Plums & almond...*swoon*... love this recipe! Thank you, Marie! Happy Day, dear friend--LOVE YA ((BIG HUGS))

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oooooh! Dreamy crumble--my favorite! This looks so delicious...anything with crumble on the bottom, middle AND top is okay by me!

    Hope your day is as delicious as this recipe, and that you enjoy every bite of it! Much love to you, dear friend---hope the smoky air is clearing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for your hardwork on this great blog!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, what a nice and refreshing combination...plums and almond, all together in a tart...looks so pretty :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I don't usually buy the ripen at home punnets of fruit either, but sometimes you can cook some life into them. What a great way to use 'em up - this looks mouthwatering, Marie.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Maire, Marie, Maire,
    I am sooo glad you are back. I so missed reading your post every morning. I pray, check my email and check your blog--in that order. That you are back now makes me so very happy girlfriend.
    ANna. Limehouse.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm getting a train to Chester right now! Must get a piece of this cake in my tummy pronto lol

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by. I love to hear from you so do not be shy!


BEFORE LEAVING A COMMENT OR RATING, ASK YOURSELF:
Did you make the recipe as directed? Recipe results are not guaranteed when changes have been made.

Is this comment helpful to other readers? Rude or hateful comments will not be approved. Remember that this website is run by a real person.

Are you here to complain about ads? Please keep in mind that I develop these recipes and provide them to you for free. Advertising helps to defray my cost of doing so, and allows me to continue to post regular fresh content.

Thanks so much for your understanding! I appreciate you!