Recipe: damson plum crumble cake

DAMSON PLUM CRUMBLE CAKE RECIPE

I wasn’t sure what to make with damson plums (apart from jam) but I improvised and made up a recipe for damson plum crumble cake this weekend.

This was the first time I made up my own recipe for a cake so I was slightly apprehensive about how it would turn out but it resulted in an absolutely delicious, moist, sweet cake.

INGREDIENTS:

500 grams damson plums (if you can’t source damsons, use a different type of plum, preferably purple-skinned plums)

100 grams butter

100 grams sugar (brown unrefined)

3 eggs

200 grams flour (I used white spelt flour but standard all-purpose flour would be fine)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

2-3 tbsp milk

CRUMBLE TOPPING INGREDIENTS:

30 grams sugar

30 grams butter

56 grams flour

METHOD:

1: Wash the plums thoroughly and cut them in half, carefully removing all the stones.

Chopped damsons

2: Cream the butter and sugar together until they are thoroughly mixed and are light and fluffy. It helps if you remove the butter from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you intend to use it as otherwise you’ll find that mixing it with the sugar is an arduous chore (good for the arm muscles though!)

Starting to mix the butter and sugar

3: Beat the eggs and gradually add them to the butter and sugar mix a little at a time, stirring thoroughly until they are mixed well.

4: In a separate bowl, stir the flour, cinnamon and baking powder together. Make a well in the center of the flour and gradually fold in the cake batter you have ready.

5: Add a splash of milk and stir (just a small amount; I didn’t bother measuring but it’s probably approx. 2-3 tablespoons)

6: Add approx. half of the plums into the cake batter and mix thoroughly. Pour into the prepared cake tin and level the top of the cake with a spoon.

7: Press the remaining damsons into the top of the cake.

8: Make the crumble topping by mixing together the flour and sugar. Add the butter and use your fingers to rub it into the flour.

9: Sprinkle the crumble topping over the cake and bake in a pre-heated oven for approx. 60 minutes. I baked it at 160 C/320 F but your oven may differ as convection oven temperatures have to be slightly reduced. There are varying schools of thought in terms of how much temperatures should be reduced but I have always been told to reduce the temperature by about 20 degrees. so if you are baking this in a standard oven, you should bake it at 180 C/340 F as you will need to raise the temperature by 20 degrees. As every oven varies, make sure you check the cake from time to time while it is cooking and reduce or increase the cooking time if necessary. You can tell when the cake is cooked by inserting a knife into the middle. If it comes out relatively clean, the cake is ready.

10: Enjoy your cake! It is delicious served with fresh strawberries, raspberries and crème fraîche. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment on this post.

My damson plum crumble cake!