This plum and almond tray bake cake is a great recipe for late summer or early autumn when plums are in plentiful supply (and at their best in the UK).
It's an unassuming recipe, and might not look the prettiest, but we've cranked it up a gear by adding a few spoonfuls of apricot jam to butter and brown sugar to make a decadent and moreish caramel layer in which the halved and stoned plums sit in.
Then, a simple cake batter is spooned and spread on top of the plum halves, and baked for 45 minutes. Allow to cool before turning over and removing from the tin. You can store the cooled cake in an airtight container for up to three days.
And if you are lucky enough to have a glut of plums then we can also highly recommend our plum and apple crumble as a perfect use of excess plums and a knockout dessert, too.
If you always struggled when making cakes and want to learn some fail-safe tips to avoid common cake fails, our guide will give you all the help you need when your next baking project commences.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Yields:
15 serving(s)
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
50 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 20 mins
Cal/Serv:
395
Ingredients
350 g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
325 g light brown soft sugar
2 Tbsp. apricot jam
9 plums
4 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp. almond extract
275 g self-raising flour
2 tsp. baking powder
75 g ground almonds
icing sugar, to dust
Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease and line the base and sides of a 20.5 x 30.5cm roasting tin with baking parchment. In a pan, gently heat 100g butter with 100g brown sugar. Once butter has melted, stir in jam and simmer for 3min, until the caramel comes together. Pour into the cake tin and leave to cool for 10min.
Step 2
Halve and de-stone the plums. Arrange cut-side down in the caramel. Set aside.
Step 3
In a large bowl, whisk remaining butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in almond extract. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and ground almonds. Fold into the egg mixture. Spoon on to plums and spread to level. Bake for about 45min or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
To store: Store cooled cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Per Serving:
Calories: 395
Fibre: 2 g
Total carbs: 40 g
Sugars: 26 g
Total fat: 24 g
Saturated fat: 13 g
Protein: 5 g
Our favourites plum recipes to try when the weather turns autumnal
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
