Plums have a wonderful affinity with almonds, and this cake is so easy to rustle up that there is no excuse not to give it a go. The plums can be substituted with other seasonal stone fruit, such as greengages or apricots, if you prefer. You could also use other nuts, such as walnuts or hazelnuts, in the cake mixture, or vary the flavours by substituting the vanilla and cinnamon with freshly grated lemon or orange zest.
MAKES 20cm/8in cake
PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes COOKING TIME: 40 minutes
150g/5½oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
125g/5½oz/1 cup white spelt flour, plus extra for dusting
150g/5½oz/⅔ cup golden caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
3 eggs
125g/4½oz/1¼ cups ground almonds
1½ tsp baking powder
8 summer plums, such as Victoria or Opal, halved and pitted
a little icing sugar, sifted, for dusting
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Lightly grease a 20cm/8in round springform cake tin and dust with a little spelt flour.
Beat together the butter and sugar in a large bowl, using an electric mixer, until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla and cinnamon and beat again. Add the eggs one at a time, including a spoonful of the flour with each egg to prevent the mixture from splitting.
Add the remaining dry ingredients to the bowl, then use a large metal spoon or spatula to fold the ingredients together so that the mixture is evenly blended. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and gently insert each plum half, cut-side down, around the cake, arranging them either in concentric circles or in whatever pattern you prefer.
Bake for 35–40 minutes until the cake is golden brown on top and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar to serve.