Plum Crumble Cake
Summertime summertime summertime. Often baking is not the first thing that comes to mind when it's hot outside, but summertime is the best time to get into delicious stone fruits. Nectarines, peaches and of course plums are all in abundance and relatively inexpensive at this time of the year because they are grown locally. So why not get baking with them?
This recipe is a bit of a mix and match situation. It's a simple "butter cake" style batter, topped with some slightly sour plums, then covered with a sweet and crunchy crumble to bring it all together. It could certainly be a dessert if you served it warm (I'm thinking make ahead and then use your re-heat (Regenerate) or Combination Steam function to bring it back to moist and warm perfection! Add some double cream or ice-cream (or both!) and voila. It's also delicious just as a slice for morning or afternoon tea. In actual fact it could be a slice. Hmmmmm…..now I’m unsure. Is it a cake or is it a slice. You know what? On reflection it doesn’t even matter. It’s just delicious.
You could really substitute any of your favourite stone fruits into this - I don't mind! And in the winter months you could try it with some chopped apple or pear and add a little extra cinnamon and ground ginger for warmth.
In terms of cooking, we want some moisture here but not too much. Depending on the brand you have you may need to achieve this in different ways. In my brand of choice I have a function called Humid (Hot Air Humid or Convection Humid depending on models) which gives me fan forced heat but seals all the oven cracks and crevices to keep the moisture from the food inside. Find out more about this function here. In other brands you can use your Combination Steam function but just keep a nice low amount of steam (around 10% should be about right). This is the go to function/setting for your cakes, muffins and slices in my opinion so it makes it easy to adapt your own recipes. With the majority of the heat coming from the Fan Forced aspect and just a little bit of steam you will achieve that perfect browned, crunchy and gorgeously golden result whilst keeping it moist in the middle.
So this is my plum (or any fruit) crumble cake…..
Ingredients:
175g unsalted butter
220g caster sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract
225g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 XL eggs
4 plums
Crumble: 50g brown sugar, 75g plain flour, 50g butter (cold, cubed), 2 tbs chopped walnuts, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
To Make:
Chop the butter for the cake into cubes and crack the eggs into a separate small dish. Place both dishes into the CombiSteam and select Steam at 30°C. Leave for 5-10 mins to just soften and come to room temperature.
Meanwhile combine the flour and baking powder in a small bowl with a hand whisk.
Chop the plums (or other stone fruit) into quarters and remove the stone.
Grease and line a rectangular slice tin (16cmx26cm) with baking paper.
Use your fingers to "rub" the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and cold butter for the crumble together until the butter is incorporated and it looks "crumbly". Stir in the walnuts.
When the remaining butter is softened and the eggs are at room temp remove. Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and use an electric beater to cream until pale in colour and very light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition to incorporate completely.
Fold in the flour mixture.
Select your Combination Steam function. Set the temperature to 170°C. For variable Steam set 10-20%. (For V-ZUG/Wolf select Hot Air/Convection Humid)
Spread the cake batter into the prepared tin and press the plum pieces, skin side down, into the top of the batter.
Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top as evenly as you can.
Place into the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 35-40 mins or until it has risen evenly and is golden brown. A skewer should come out clean when placed into the centre of the cake avoiding the plums.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin, on a cake rack, for 15 mins then gently pull out of the tin using the paper and place back on the rack to cool until serving.
Dust with a little icing sugar if you like!
A little sweet treat to bring a smile to your dial. It certainly didn't last long at my palace and I doubt it will in yours!!
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Time for a royal wave goodbye!
Happy CombiSteaming!
Yours in the kitchen,
The CSQ.