Plum Upside-down Cake

Plum Upside-down Cake

Ingredients:

= 700 gr plums (25-30 plums)
= 50 gr muscovado sugar
= 150 gr unsalted butter, softened
= 110 gr self-rising flour
= 25 gr ground almonds
= 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
= 3 large eggs
= few drop almond essence
= 110 gr caster sugar

You need a cake tin with a fixed base measuring 9in(23cm) diameterx2in(5cm) deep.
Buttered.

Way to make:

1. Melt the muscovado sugar with 25gr of the butter and then spread the mixture in the bottom of the buttered cake tin. now srone the plums, trying to keep them whole, and pack them on top of the butter and sugar mixture. They should form a very close-fitting single layer, so use more or fewer plums as necessary. Leave the tin to one side.

2. Preheat the oven to 190'C while you make the cake mixture. First sift the self-rising flour, ground almonds and baking powder together and put aside. Whisk the eggs lightly and add a drop or two of almond essence-go lightly, it's powerful stuff.
Now, using a food mixer or a hand-held electric whisk and bowl, beat the remaining 110gr of butter and caster sugar together for a couple of minutes until pale and very soft. Then, with the food mixer or electric whisk still running, tip in one third of beaten eggs.
Repeat alternately until all the ingredients have been incorporated and the mixture is thick, soft and floppy.

3. Scrape out the mixture from the bowl and spoon it over the plums in the cake tin, covering them completely. Put the tin into the preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes.
Check the cake after this time-if it is browning too quickly, reduce the temperature to 180'C. Continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes, until the cake has shrunk away from the sides of the tin and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

4. To serve, take a shallow dish and invert it over the top of the cake tin. Hold the entire ensemble very firmly and then turn it over. Place the dish on the work surface and very carefully lift off the cake tin.

5. The upside-down cake can be served hot, warm or cold.