Sticky Plum and Custard Cake
Great British plums are at their great British best right now. Make the very most of them with this sticky, treatsome traybake cake, perfect as an afternoon tea treat or pudding after an easygoing supper.
Ingredients (serves 10-12)
250g soft butter
250g caster sugar
4 large eggs
250g self-raising flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g ready-made thick custard
15 ripe but firm plums (5 chopped, 10 halved, all destoned)
50g flaked almonds
To serve: golden syrup; thick cream
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180c/gas mark 4 and grease a rectangular baking tin (minimum 5cm deep) with baking paper.
Whisk the butter and sugar together in a large bowl (an electric whisk is your best friend here) until pale and fluffy then beat the eggs in one by one, adding a little flour with each egg, before gently folding in the rest of the flour and the bicarbonate of soda. Fold the vanilla extract, custard and chopped plums into the mixture, then pour the mixture into the cake tin and smooth the top. Bake for 25 minutes, then very gently remove the tin from the oven and lightly lay the halved plums (cut-side up) on top. Scatter with the almonds, then bake for another 45 minutes or until golden, covering loosely with foil if the cake browns too quickly. You can test if the cake is ready by pushing a knife or skewer into the middle – it should be slightly sticky but not wet.
Remove from the oven, drizzle with golden syrup and leave in the tin for 10 minutes before removing, placing onto a wire rack to cool completely or serving warm with lashings of thick cream.
