plum almond yoghurt mini-cakes with vanilla roasted plums and creme fraiche

it was the market of local food producers this weekend as part of the brighton food festival, and it was wonderful!  so many delicious offerings, I picked up some amazing goats cheeses, a date and apple chutney that I have hidden away for christmas, a spicy plum sauce and some delicious ripe plums too.

after spending what was a rather gloomy day today at my laptop working on my website I couldn't resist using up the plums for dessert (dinner was a scrummy salmon fillet on top of mustard braised leek and cabbage...mmmmm and indeed, hmmmm).

for the plums i decided to use the base of the fig, almond yoghurt cake i made before but this time i made the cakes in my 4" tart rings and roasted the remainder of the plums with vanilla sugar to serve hot with the cooled cakes, and a dollop of creme fraiche.

 

 

plum almond yoghurt cake

ingredients

132g butter, softened

132g caster sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

120g ground almonds

66g plain flour

pinch of salt

1/4 vanilla pod, seeds

1/4tsp star anise, ground

66ml plain yoghurt

4 plums, sliced into 8ths

about 8 pistachio nuts, shelled and chopped quite finely 

method

1. in a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients and whisk gently to combine

2. beat the butter in a large bowl with a handheld mixer for 1 minute, then add the caster sugar and beat until fluffy - about 2 minutes

3. add the egg a dribble at a time, beating well after each addition

4. fold in the dry ingredients with a spatula until you have a smooth batter

5. fold in the yoghurt until just incorporated

6. divide amongst five buttered 4"tart rings and smooth down the tops

7. place the plum slices just into the batter and sprinkle over the chopped pistachio nuts

8. bake in the lower 3rd of the oven for 10mins, then reduce the temperature to 150C and bake for 20mins more, or until a knife comes out clean-ish when inserted

9. remove to cool on a wire rack, once cooled run a knife round the edges of the tart ring a slide off

 

vanilla roasted plums

ingredients

15g butter, melted

vanilla sugar, 1 tsp per half plum

3 plums, halved and stoned

method

1. preheat the oven to 190C

2. place the plum halves cut side up on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper

3. brush the cut side of the plums with the melted butter and sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar over each one

4. bake towards the top of the oven for 15 minutes

5. serve with the mini-cakes and a dollop of creme fraiche