German plum cake

SERVES 10

Mum found this recipe many years ago in an old gardening magazine and it’s a winner. It is one of those wonderfully sturdy cakes that’s fantastic served warm, straight out of the oven, but it also seems to improve after a day or two.

125g butter

½ cup sugar, plus

1 tbsp extra

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup plain flour 1½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup ground almonds

½ cup sour cream

6- 8 plums, de-stoned

and quartered

1 tsp cinnamon and a little

melted butter

1 Preheat oven to 180oC. Grease a deep (5cm or so) fluted tart tin.

2 Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each. Sift in the dry ingredients, stirring lightly to combine.

Lastly, fold in the ground almonds and sour cream.

Spoon the batter into prepared tin and gently smooth the top.

3 Arrange the plums in a circular pattern on top, then sprinkle with the extra sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle melted butter over. Bake for 35- 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

4 Serve warm or cold with cream, yoghurt or crème fraîche.