DAPHNE'S PLUM CAKE

Good Afternoon to you,

Today, I thought it prudent to bake a cake, as I have been receiving huge hints from George, that it's the weekend and the cake tin is decidedly empty. The only way he could make it any clearer that he wanted to indulge in a piece of cake, is if he stood in front of me and said 'Please bake me a cake'.

As the weather turns colder and the nights draw in, comfort food and cake, become an integral part of my cooking.

Do I see you rolling your eyes? Are you thinking to yourself, eating cake is not a good idea, because what is the saying.... oh yes.... 'a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips'.... well yes I suppose this is true, but surely everything in moderation.  

My mother, Phyllis eats whatever she wants, and her weight never seems to fluctuate by more than a couple of pounds, as she is a firm believer of eating everything in moderation.

I think it would be wrong of me to say, I am as good as my mother, because my appetite ebbs and flows with the weather.  In the summer time I eat less, but when winter arrives it is fair to say I do indulge a little more.

.... but this is how I compensate. Around the middle of November, I ban all things sweet, such as cakes, biscuits and chocolates from our house, (with George's agreement of course) until Christmas arrives and then I give myself permission to indulge in all the Christmas foods.  I don't know about you, but I  find, I can resist temptation if the forbidden foods are not in the house.  I might fancy a chocolate, but if there are none in the cupboard, then I find the fancy passes quite quickly.

.... and between you and me, I feel the constant hinting from George, is because he knows, very shortly, there will be no cake in the house.

But for now, I do feel this Plum cake will indulge his sweet tooth and as plums are plentiful in the markets at the moment, this is the perfect Autumnal cake.

So it's on with the pinnie and time to organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

DAPHNE'S PLUM CAKE

250g soft unsalted butter

250g soft brown sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

250g self raising flour - sieved 

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

500g plums ~ halved and stones removed

You will need:  22cm cake tin, buttered and lined

with baking parchment.

Pre heat the oven to 170C

HOW TO 

MAKE

DAPHNE'S PLUM CAKE

Using an electric whisk, 

Whisk the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Whilst the butter and sugar are combining. Whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract and set aside for the moment.

Sieve the s.r. flour, cinnamon and salt and set aside.

When the butter and sugar are light and fluffy, add the eggs a little at a time and continue whisking. If you find the mixture splitting, add a tablespoon of flour and continue whisking.

Add the dry ingredients a tablespoon at a time until thoroughly combined.

Spoon the cake mixture into the pre-prepared cake tin and smooth the top. 

Place the halved plums into the cake mixture, pushing them down into the mixture.  You can arrange them haphazardly or create a design. You will find to fit all the plums into the cake mixture, they will need to be quite close together.

Bake for about 1 hour or until the cake is golden in colour and firm to the touch.

Leave the cake in the cake tin for 10 minutes, then remove  and place onto a cooling rack to cool.

There are two ways to enjoy this Plum cake. You can eat it warm with a spoonful of double cream or enjoy it cooled with a sprinkling of icing sugar.

Either way, I think you will be happy to indulge your sweet tooth.

.... but not too much, remember the saying I mentioned earlier.

'A moment on the hips, a life time on the hips.'

Take care and I will catch up with you next Saturday.

Oh yes, just before I leave you, I wanted to mentioned that I am having great problems answering your comments.  The comments are there, but when I try to access them they disappear.  I know Google does not support Open ID Comments anymore.  Do you know of anyway around this to allow me to access your comments.  I would appreciate any help you could give me.

As Always,