Monday 16 December 2019

Dark Chocolate and Ginger Fudge

In cooking, my nemesis for a long time has been anything that involves caramel or boiled sugar. Having had the successes earlier this year with jams, I decided to tackle my ultimate adversary... fudge. I can't work out why this recipe has worked when loads of others have failed but it did and I'm not going to question it too much. I added ginger to this recipe but I would imagine you could swap it out for many other classic fudge flavours - rum and raisin, chocolate orange, perhaps a caramel and pecan. Now I have this recipe I will be experimenting with loads of different flavours and I have a feeling this will feature in a lot of peoples Christmas presents. Please be careful when making this, hot sugar obviously will burn and it hurts A LOT.


Ingredients:

120ml soy milk
250g dark brown sugar
56g plant based butter
100g dark chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 balls ginger in syrup

 
Method:

Line a loaf pan with baking paper and set to one side.

Chop up your chocolate into small pieces and place on a plate with the butter. Finely chop the ginger and pop on the same plate. In a large pan, mix together the sugar and milk and bring to the boil. Keep it boiling for exactly 7 minutes ( I dont know why this works but it does) stirring continuously. The mixture should thicken and darken, it will bubble quite viciously so be careful not to splash yourself with molten sugar.


Immediately take the pan off of the heat and stir in all of the other ingredients. Keep stirring until everything has melted together then pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Smooth it out with a spatula to create an even layer.


Place the tin in the fridge for at least 30 minutes until set and then turn the fudge out. Chop into bite-sized pieces and enjoy.

I would recommend keeping these in the fridge once cut for the best results but they don't last very long  with people scoffing them so I wouldn't worry either way!

When you make this, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Thank you.

Sunday 8 December 2019

Stollen Swirl

Christmas seems to be all to fast approaching this year with a scant 3 weeks to go. I have been trialing different traditional Christmas cakes over the last few weeks with varying degrees of success and then realised, my family don't do Christmas in the traditional sense - especially not when it comes to the food. The Stollen swirl was then born; mashing up my love for a good cinnamon swirl, my other halfs new found love of stollen (which I'm yet to find a vegan version of) and the total excess of Christmas with the finished product sizing well over the average dinner plate and stuffed with treats. You could also skip coiling the dough round to create a giant swirl and cut through the rolled dough to create a more traditional cinnamon bun look but I love seeing people's faces when presented with a slice of this. The dried fruit measurements are a rough guide - use your favourites to personalise the cake to your family. I really hope you make this giant bun and that it brings some festive cheer to your kitchen.



Ingredients:
Dough:
800g strong white flour plus extra for dusting
7g fast action yeast
1/2 tsp salt
100g caster sugar
500ml soy milk
150g plant based butter

Filling:
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove
2 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp cranberries
2 tbsp mixed peel
1 tbsp crystalised ginger
3 tbsp glace cherries
4 tbsp cinnamon
75g plant based butter
75g caster sugar
1 block marzipan

Icing:
6 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tsp orange extract

Method:

Pop the butter and milk for the dough into a jug and microwave fora  couple of minutes until warm and the butter melted. Place the other dough ingredients into the bowl of your mixer and combine before adding in the warmed milk and butter. Mix for around 10 minutes until the dough is stretchy, bouncy and has a spring to it. The dough should feel like the lobe of your ear!

While the dough is mixing, chop the cherries and crystallized ginger then add to a bowl with the other dried fruit, ginger, clove and nutmeg. Stir well to ensure all of the fruit is coated. In a separate bowl, mash together the cinnamon, butter and sugar then place to one side.

Roll out the marzipan as thin as you can, around 2mm thick then place to one side. I would recommend rolling out out between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper to stop it sticking.

Once the dough is ready, flour a large sheet of baking paper and tip out the dough onto it. Roll out the dough, adding more flour as needed, to a large rectangle around 4 mm in thickness. Gently spread on the cinnamon butter - I find using my fingers gets the best results over a knife or pastry brush. Sprinkle on the dried fruit then tear of little pieces of the marzipan and lay over the top. Leave some gaps between the marzipan so its not in every bite so as not to overwhelm the cake.


Beginning at one long side, carefully fold the dough over to create the start of the roll, pulling gently to keep the dough taught and to help it release from the baking paper. Keep rolling until you reach the other side then smooth the edge of the dough onto the roll with your fingers. Create a spiral from the dough on a well floured baking sheet and leave to rest for half an hour.


Preheat your oven to 160c fan then bake the swirl for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and slightly crisp on the outside. Allow to cool for 15 minutes once baked.

Mix together the icing sugar with the orange extract then slowly add water until the mix resembles single cream, Drizzle over the still warm swirl to help the icing melt in.


Serve warm with ice cream for desert or a drizzle of plant based cream for a christmas appropriate snack!

Please make this and take a picture, tagging me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!

Sunday 1 December 2019

Friday Night Takeaway at the Alleycat

I know that if you've been around for a while (thank you if you have), you absolutely will have heard me raving about Inverness' one and only fully vegan restaurant - The Alleycat. Serving amazing food all year round, they have recently come up with a new initiative -  recreating everyone's favourite takeaways, vegan style. They recently hosted a 'fish' and chip shop night which I was gutted to miss out on so when they announced they would be recreating classic chinese takeaway dishes I grabbed my food bestie and off we went.


The absolute worst part of the entire evening was having to try to decide what to have, so we didn't and ordered just about one of everything off the menu to share between us (yes, we are VERY fond of food). The food was delivered to our table in takeaway containers and the staff even 'forgot' an item from each diners order to ensure the true takeaway experience.

We shared a portion of spring rolls which were perfectly stuffed and oh so deliciously crispy that my mouth is watering again just thinking about them. Alongside those we had a noodle, beansprout and mushroom dish which had an excellent balance between the noodles and beansprouts and somehow also had them evenly distributed which I struggle with when cooking.


I ordered the vegetables in blackbean sauce as soon as I spotted it on the menu, I LOVED the Alleycat's tempura veg with black bean dipping sauce when they were 'just' a pop-up restaurant and knew that this would be a massive hit. The dish was a mix of green and red peppers, mushrooms and baby corn in a beautifully balanced sauce. I have to admit, I normally hate green peppers and my heart sank a little when I opened the dish but I would happily eat them in this sauce every day of the week. My order came with a portion of wonderfully crispy little fries, ideal for mopping up any sauce left over.


My friend ordered the sweet and sour 'chicken' which I nabbed a few pieces of. I don't remember, having been veggie for 20 years, what chicken tasted like but I can vouch for this being delicious. My friend is an Omni and happily tucked into her portion leaving not a trace on the plate. This came with a lovely and fluffy fried rice which was the perfect accompaniment to the sauce.


The drinks menu at the Alleycat has a brilliant selection of soft drinks, most of which are now made in house. We had a smokey cherry sparkling juice as well as a mango and orange one both of which were a treat for the taste buds.

The Alleycat is a stockist of the wonderful mallownuts and teafakes from Prissy Queen of Deserts so we finished off the meal with a chocolatey treat, or two.


We did order a lot of food but it was all so delicious that our plates were scraped clean and our waistbands were fortunately elasticated!

Rumour has it that the Alleycat are planning a pizza night and I would thoroughly recommend cancelling all plans to be there. I know I will.

Apologies for the lack of photos, I was far too busy stuffing my face!

If you haven't heard of The Alleycat before check out these posts...

http://whatsaffydid.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-alleycat.html

http://whatsaffydid.blogspot.com/2019/08/sunday-market-and-afternoon-tea.html

http://whatsaffydid.blogspot.com/2018/08/jvnk-pop-up-by-friends-not-food.html






Sunday 24 November 2019

Biscoff Blondies

It was my Other Halfs birthday and, as you should all know by now, "it's not a birthday unless theres a Saffy birthday cake". Work had been hectic and I hadn't had time to create anything elaborate and he had kept mentioning my Biscoff and Cinnamon cupcakes recently so I thought I would do something similar that I could whip up quickly after work and these blondies were the result. Soft and incredibly morish, everyone I have fed these too has instantly requested more along with the recipe for them as well. The hardest part of making these was trying not to eat all of them at once, they are rich and high in sugar but oh so worth it. I have slightly damaged my camera so apologies for the dodgy quality of some of the pictures.


Ingredients:


250g plain flour
350g caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
250ml water
250ml vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 tsp raspberry jam
5 tbsp icing sugar
1 jar lotus biscoff spread 
6 lotus biscuits


Method:

Preheat your oven to 160c and grease and line a 30cm by 15 cm baking tin. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a large bowl and mix together. Take roughly half the biscoff spread and microwave for 1 minute until runny like single cream then add to the bowl along with the oil, water and vanilla. Mix thoroughly until everything is well combined then pour into the baking tin. Dollop in spoonfully of raspberry jam and swirl through the mixture with a knife then crumble the biscuits over the top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and just set to the touch but still with a little wiggle to keep the blondies moist. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool.

Once the blondies are cool, microwave the other half of the biscoff spread and mix in the icing sugar then spread over the top of the blondies and leave to set before cutting. I would recommend popping some kitchen towel under the cooling rack before icing to prevent the biscoff icing sticking to your counters.

Slice into generous chunks and scoff with a cuppa.

Please take a picture when you make these and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!

Sunday 17 November 2019

Chocolate Fondants

With Christmas looming ever nearer, I wanted to make handmade gifts this year and have been experimenting with different edible treats. These are my take on a recipe given to me by one of the team I work with - I realise making chocolates using potato is a little odd but these genuinely taste amazing and no-one has been able to guess the 'secret' ingredient. Because each potato is different, I have left the amounts for a lot of the ingredients blank so you can achieve the flavour you like best, just add slowly and keep tasting. I gave a bag of these to one of my friends as part of her birthday and she loved them which is always good!



Ingredients:

1 large potato
Icing sugar
5 bars dark chocolate
orange extract
vanilla extract
cinnamon
coffee extract

Method:

Peel and chop the potato into small pieces then boil until soft. Place in a blender and puree until smooth and silky. Slowly add in the icing sugar until the mixture becomes reasonably stiff like whipped cream. Separate out into 3 bowls and add orange extract to one, vanilla to another and coffee and cinnamon to the last.


Beat the flavourings into the mixture adding more as required. Add a little more icing sugar until the mix becomes a paste. Place in the fridge for half an hour or so until it can be moulded.


Melt the chocolate and form small bite-sized balls of the mixture then dip each one into the melted chocolate, making sure they are well coated. I then placed them into petit four cases but you could set them on a sheet of baking paper. Repeat until all of the mixture is used up then place in the fridge to set.


I left these plain but you could drizzle them with more melted chocolate or roll them in coconut or citrus zest.

When you make these, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Thank you!

Sunday 3 November 2019

Lotus Biscuit Rocky Road

I was talking to the team at my work about childhood favourite treats and Rocky Road came up so I had to try making my own version. Everyone probably knows by now my love of Lotus Biscuits and my Other Half very kindly bought a box of 300 off Amazon recently so logic clearly dictated they should be the biscuit used. This recipe is beyond easy to make with the hardest part being unwrapping all the biscuits, luckily they don't need to be kept whole. I cut this into 16 pieces as it is pretty rich but just see how you feel on the day and how many you are feeding. The addition of the vanilla extract and cinnamon help to balance the dark chocolate which in turn prevents these being too sweet.
 

Ingredients:

200g dark chocolate
200g lotus biscuits
3 tbsp golden syrup
130g dairy free butter
100g Glace Cherries
1 bag marshmallows
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
Icing sugar for dusting

Method:

In a large bowl, crush your Lotus biscuits into a mix of dust and small chunks. Chop the marshmallows and cherries into small pieces and set to one side. Line a square baking tray with baking paper.



In a large pan, melt the butter, chocolate and golden syrup together over a low heat then stir in the cinnamon and vanilla extract. Add the biscuits, marshmallows and cherries and stir thoroughly until everything is well coated.


Tip the mixture into the baking tray and smooth out with a spatula to level off the top. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours until set or if you need it quickly place in the freezer for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the rocky road with icing sugar then cut in to chunks and serve.



When you make this, please take a picture of the results and tag me using #dairyofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!

Sunday 27 October 2019

Marshmallow Pumpkin Pie

This recipe feels like a mash-up of all things American and Canadian with maple syrup, pumpkins and marshmallows. If I'm being honest, I have never tried a traditional pumpkin pie but I wanted to create my take to celebrate a seasonal vegetable that is very much underrated as a food source in Scotland and usually sits, carved and going mushy, on our doorsteps to welcome guisers. Lots of people this year seem to be buying pumpkins and having them just as they are as decoration - if they havent been treated with anything for longevity, this recipe would be the perfect way to use them up after halloween. I would have loved to have made my own marshmallows to top this pie but me and molten sugar don't seem to mix well and previous attempts have been rather disastrous!


Ingredients:
225g plain flour
100g dairy free butter
4-6 tbsp cold water
1 tsp nutmeg

1 large pumpkin
1 ripe banana
3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp dark brown sugar

marshmallows to top

Method:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour and 1 tsp of nutmeg then rub in the butter until the mix resembles bread crumbs. Slowly add in the water until the dough comes together and holds. Place in some clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.


While your dough is chilling, pop your pumpkin (if you can fit it) into the microwave in small bursts until soft to the touch. Don't microwave it for too long like I did or you'll be cleaning exploding pumpkins off everything! Once the pumpkin is soft, cut in half and remove the seeds then scoop the flesh into a blender. Add the banana and whizz up in the blender, adding the other ingredients slowly as each pumpkins flavour will differ and you may need slightly more or less of each. Once you are satisfied with the flavour of your pumpkin puree, place to one side and turn your attention back to the dough.


Preheat your oven to 160c fan. Remove the dough from the fridge and place the unwrapped dough onto a floured surface and roll out to just larger than your tart case. Carefully lift the dough into the case and press down into the edges. Remove the excess dough and use to patch any cracks. Place some greaseproof paper on top of the dough and fill the case with baking beans or rice and blind bake for 10 minutes.


Once the dough has blind baked, remove the greaseproof and weight and fill with the pumpkin puree, smoothing it right out to the edges. Top with marshmallows (I cut mine in half) and bake for a further 10 minutes until the marshmallows are golden brown and gooey.


We enjoyed this with vanilla ice cream but I imagine it would be equally nice with whipped coconut cream.

When you make this, take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife.

Enjoy!




Sunday 20 October 2019

Homemade Gnocchi with Maple roasted vegetables

This recipe is a combination of my love for roasted brussel sprouts topped with cheese and the fact that, as always, as soon as autumn hits everyone goes pumpkin crazy. I couldn't find a small pumpkin so used a butternut squash but I'm sure this would be delicious with either. I have also wanted to try making my own gnocchi for a while as my brother and I loved them as kids but I find suitable ones really hard to find. They were surprisingly easy to make once I worked out how much flour to add. Mine were a little on the big side so make sure your version of 'bitesized' is more delicate than my overlarge gob!


Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash
2 white onions
1 bulb garlic
1 tbsp mixed herbs
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp maple syrup
4 medium potatoes
8-10 tbsp plain flour plus extra for dusting
1 bag brussel sprouts
olive oil
salt and pepper
your favourite cheese to top - I swear by Left Coast Culture


Method:

Preheat your oven to 180c. Peal your squash, sprouts and onions and cut into bitesized chunks and pop into a roasting dish. Mince the garlic and add in along with the herbs, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar and a good drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are soft.



While the vegetables are roasting, peal and chop your potatoes and boil until soft. Mash and place into a large bowl. Slowly add flour a tablespoon at a time and knead in to create a soft dough thats pliable but not sticky. Turn out onto a floured surface and cut into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece to form a sausage then cut into bitesized pieces.


In a large pan, bring some salted water to the boil and place some of the gnocchi in, cook them in batches to prevent them sticking together. The gnocchi will float to the surface when they are cooked, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen towel to drain. Once all of the gnocchi are cooked, pop them in with the roasted vegetables and return everything to the oven to caramelise slightly and brown the gnocchi a little. I topped mine with some Left Coast Culture cheese just before I took them out of the oven so the cheese melted... drool.

We had this as a meal in itself but it would work equally well as a side dish.

When you make this, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Sunday 6 October 2019

Chocolate Celebration Cake

I am never one to back down from a challenge and when I realised it was my chocolate loving friends birthday I knew I had to push the boat out and make a real showstopper as bake-off would call it. My OH had recently bought me an icing set complete with all the bells and whistles and I knew this would be the perfect excuse to give it a whirl. This cake is a bit of a labour of love but it's a million percent worth it, delicate and light cake with perfectly chewy cookies and a decadent buttercream coating. What more could you want?

I have since made a 4 layer version of the cake (doubling up the ingredients) without the cookies for a my friends little ones birthday and you've never seen a bigger smile or a kid air punch about a cake so hard! This will take a good chunk of your day but I promise it's worth it. This recipe makes more cookies than are needed for the cake which is obviously such a shame! A real hardship to have to eat afterwards!


Ingredients:

For the cake:
230g plain flour
260g dark brown sugar
80g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
150ml sunflower oil
360ml soy milk
1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar

For the cookies:
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 bar dark chocolate
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup and 1 tbsp oil
1/4 cup and 1 tbsp water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing:
2 tbsp plant based butter
8 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 bar dark chocolate
1 box mint chocolate squares (after eights - tesco own brand are vegan)



Method:


Start with the cake... Preheat your oven to 180c and grease two round cake tins (15cm across). Place the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and mix then slowly add in the vanilla extract and oil. In a separate jug, mix the soy milk and vinegar until the milk curdles slightly (trust me) and then add to the batter. Mix well with a beater to remove all the lumps, the batter should be smooth, glossy and relatively liquid. Separate evenly between the 2 cake tins and bake for 30-40 minutes until a skewer or knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. Leave to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack.


While the cakes are baking, make the cookies. Pop the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl and mix together. Chop the bar of chocolate into small chunks and add to the dry ingredients. Place both sugars into a seperate bowl along with a the vanilla, water and oil and whisk together. Fold in the dry ingredients until everything comes together to form a stiff batter. I took generous teaspoons of the batter for smaller cookies, ideal for topping the cake. Make balls of the batter and place them on baking sheets lined with greaseproof paper then place in the freezer for at least half an hour.


By this time, your cakes should be out of the oven and the temperature can be lowered to 160c to bake the cookies. They will take around 15 minutes and should be soft to the touch but spread out and look puffy when baked. As they cool they will collapse and crack giving them the classic cookie look. Place the cookies onto a cooling tray as soon as you can touch them.


For the icing, place the butter into a blender along with the cocoa powder and the vanilla and blitz until the butter is creamy in consistency. Slowly add the icing sugar to prevent it flying everywhere. The icing should be quite thick but still spreadable, taste it at this stage to ensure it tastes of coca and sugar rather than butter and add more icing sugar if needed. Place in a box in the fridge until the cakes are fully cooled.

Once the cakes are fully cooled, place one on a serving plate or base. Take a mug and fill with hot water to aid the icing. I have a turntable and piping kit but if you don't just try and turn the cake around as often as possible to make the icing as smooth as you can. Place a tablespoon of the icing on top of the cake and smooth towards the edges, using either a palette knife or eating knife. If the icing starts to stick, dip the knife into the hot water to warm up as this helps to ease the icing around. Once the top of the cake is well covered, place the other cake on top. I then piped icing around the sides of the cake and smoothed with a scraper but you could also repeat the technique used for the middle of the cake although the results probably wont be as smooth. Once the sides of the cake are coated with icing, use the remainder on the top of the cake.


Take the remaining bar of chocolate and melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals until fully melted. Spoon over the top of the cake and encourage the melted chocolate to drip down the sides. Allow to set slightly before decorating with the cookies and mint chocolates. Place in the fridge to set fully before serving. Keep an eye on the cookies as one of mine kept making a nosedive off the edge of the cake.

When you make this, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife.

Enjoy!

Sunday 29 September 2019

Roasted Vegetable Puff Pies

I had my mum round for lunch this week and wanted to make something filling and warm as the weather was horrible and who doesn't love a hearty plate of food in the autumn and winter. This recipe was really easy to make and couple be done in stages if time is an issue. I used a premade puff pastry from Tescos rather than attempting to make my own, most are vegan suitable but please always double check. I am also aware that this recipe contains 2 main ingredients that divide people but these could be swapped out for more of the others. Or give them a try cooked in this way - you might just surprise yourself. I served this very basically for lunch but it would equally be lovely as a dinner or to accompany a roast instead of meat.


Ingredients:


1 large onion
1 bulb garlic
1 courgette
1 aubergine
2 large flat mushrooms
1 sheet puff pastry
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp salt crystals
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp italian herbs

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200c and grab a large baking tray. Chop the courgette, aubergine and mushrooms into evenly sized pieces around a centimetre. Cut up the onion into similar sized chunks then peel and roughly chop the garlic. Place all of the chopped ingredients then toss in the salt, pepper and herbs; stirring well to give everything an even coating before drizzling with olive oil.

Place in the preheated oven and roast for 25-35 minutes until all of the vegetables are soft and cooked through. Lower the temperature of your oven to 160c.


Take the puff pastry out of the fridge around 10 minutes before you are going to use it for the best pliability. Unroll the puff pastry and cut into quarters, stretching 2 of the pieces slightly.


Spoon the roasted vegetables into the centre of the unstretched pieces, piling it up to create a good sized mound but leaving a centimetre gap around the edge. Carefully lay the stretched pieces over the top and seal using a fork pressed around the edges.

Place on a baking tray and into the oven for 15-20 minutes until puffy and golden brown.


I served these with cabbage, green beans and an onion gravy.

When you make these, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!

Sunday 22 September 2019

Plum-kin Spiced Cake

I was recently gifted a very large bag of plums and while some were perfect for eating just as they were, some had a little damage or were more bitter but ideal for cooking and baking with. I love plums and wanted to make something other than the classic crumble. This cake packs a punch with autumnal spicing inspired by the ever popular pumpkin spice latte. I succeeded with the OH test with this cake too, the smell brought him down 2 flights of stairs demanding to know what was making his mouth water. I was so enthusiastic to try this cake that I totally cut into it while it was still cooling on the rack, 100% worth it!


Ingredients:
400g self raising flour
250g granulated sugar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp golden syrup
400ml soy milk
115ml soy milk
10 plums
1 tsp vanilla extract
icing sugar



Method: 
Half and destone the plums and set to one side. Preheat your oven to 160c and line and grease a large rectangular baking tin.



Place all of the ingredients except the plums into a large bowl and mix together until the batter is smooth and resembles thick cream in texture. Pour into the baking tray and level out using a spatula. Gently pop the plums on top of the batter at even spacings then place in the oven for 35-40  minutes until golden brown and baked through - a skewer should come out clean when inserted into the cake. My plums sunk in the cake but I don't mind this, you still get a mouthful of joy and fruit in cakes will always defeat all my attempts to suspend it!


Once the cake is baked, carefully turn it out onto a cooling rack and remove the greaseproof paper. Leave to cool for 15 minutes then dust with icing sugar using a sifter or sieve.


Serve warm with cream or ice cream or just scoff as is at any given point of the day.

When you make this, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Thank you and enjoy! +