… back in Belleau for the long weekend and I am so utterly happy I can actually feel my bones relaxing. It’s been a bit of a wash-out summer here in the UK so any glimpse of sunshine and i’m out and in the great outdoors with gusto! It’s such strange weather that it feels like we’ve had the summer stolen from us by some kind of dodgy fraudster who’s replaced it with a really dreadful copy that everyone can see is a fake but we’re all ignoring because the alternative is so downright depressing. The plants and flowers seem to be having a wonderful time but quite frankly i’m cold… and it’s not even September yet. Being British of course we’re all being very ‘stiff-upper-lip’ about it and charging through with plans for picnics and garden parties without a care in the world… well, it wouldn’t quite be England if we actually complained now would it?
plum upside down cake
for many, the strawberry is the fruit of the summer and yes, I do love the strawberry for its tart sweetness and rosy pertness but now that it’s pretty much available all year round for me it has become something ordinary. Which is a shame and you can definitely tell when the British season is in full swing because those little berries taste better than they taste the rest of the year… for me however there is one fruit which symbolises the late summer and it feels all the more special for it and that’s the plum. We have some stunning plum varieties in the UK but my favourite and the one that I think has that wonderful late-summer taste is the classic Victoria. There’s something about its heady, almost musty perfume and deep, sweet plummy flavour that I adore… it may be the memory of them growing in my back garden as a kid, their sweet sticky sap such an attraction for wasps, or it may be the dusty deep reds, gold and purples of the colour that makes me love them so much… either way they are a dream baked on top of this glorious golden vanilla and lavender sponge. The lavender comes in gently from a lavender sugar I had made last year but forgotten about and works beautifully with the sweet juicy plums… a late summer classic but watch that bake, there’s a lot of juice from the fruit and this means my cake has dropped slightly, not that I mind, the flavours are all there in that gooey goodness…
225g butter
225g golden lavender sugar
3 large free-range eggs
225g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 victoria plums – thickly sliced
butter and line the base and sides of a 21cm loose-bottomed cake tin then butter the base on top of the lining generously with butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar
lay the slices plums in concentric rings in the base of the cake tin
in a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in one egg followed by one third of the flour, then beat in the second egg and another third of flour followed by beating in the third egg and the remains flour. I always add a dash of milk and the vanilla extract at this stage which I beat in
gently spoon the batter into the cake tin on top of the fruit and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes depending on your oven but check that it no longer wobbles before removing onto a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes… a note of warning – you may need to place a shallow tray on the shelf beneath the cake because the liquid from the plums tends to ooze out…
gently flip the cake tin over and remove the tin and base very carefully then allow to cool completely on the wire rack
eat and of course, enjoy!
Beautiful !!
I miss our Victoria plum tree – almost as much as I miss my rhubarb patch.
I hardly dare tell you what a glorious summer we have had here in France though……sorry !!
It almost makes up for the loss of the plum tree and the rhubarb……..But I know what you mean, we wouldn't be British if we weren't able to grumble about the weather – who was it that said “if you wait for the weather you wait forever”?
G G G Gorgeous. I have given away some plums from my garden this afternoon, as we have way too many, but I will be looking for new ways of using them up when I come round to harvesting some for us. Love the combo: vanilla and lavender and Upside Down Cake is very fitting for our strange British weather
Hi dom, oh this looks scrumptious. We have an ancient egg plum tree in the garden. I'm a bit crumbled out as I'm sure that everyone else is too. So this would make an amazing alternative. I have to fight the wasps for them but I think it would be worth the effort.
I'm sure that a balmy Indian summer is just waiting around the corner for us…
debx
Gorgeous, I would love a slice of this. The flavour combinations, the pictures, I want some, now! x
What an utterly beautiful cake! So so delicate and delicious!
I hope this comment doesn't disappear…. For some reason, the last couple of comments I have left on other posts of yours have gone!!!!
Oh my! Such a beautiful cake, Dom! Our prune plums are just ripening on the tree out back. We keep hoping that they make it before the deer come into the yard and help themselves! It's been a banner year for our garden this summer … so much canning going on right now! Your Victoria plums are gorgeous and very like the plums that my eldest daughter favors. She's a great one for plum tarts and cakes … think I'll send her your link on this lovely cake! XO!
Oh that cake looks wonderful Dom, such gorgeous golden colours. My mother has a Victoria plum, so maybe a visit is in order 😉
I love the tones of colour in the plums! The cakes sounds delicious.
I know! France looked wonderful. We had our moments but they've been few and far between!
Thanks… No such thing as too many plums!!
Thanks Debby. I have visions of you in a crumbled heap on the floor!! Yes. Let's hope for a late bloomer!
Thanks Charlene. It is rather glorious!
Thanks Kate. It was such a pretty cake, whilst it lasted. I have been having dreadful spam issues recently and I did had to delete a whole bunch of stuff and it's possible your comments were swept away in that cull x
Ahh what a lovely vision. I don't even have a plum tree so I'm very jealous!!
Thanks C. Get thee to thy mothers house!
Thanks. I think they look like stained glass. So pretty x
Your cake looks lovely and plums are one of my favourites too. We have a dwarf plum tree on our allotment. Last year it was smothered with fruit, but this year we collected just one small bowlful – oh well!
What a gorgeous cake! I want some for my coffee…
This had me licking my lips! I can nearly smell those plums from here, and what colours…lovely.
WOW! What a fabulous looking cake Dom, a sort of bridging cake between summer and autumn and as pretty as a picture! I wouldn't mind a large slab of that! Karen
What a perfect combo!
I've just come home from a trip in UK…lovely places and beautiful landscapes!
xox
Just pinned this because I definitely have to make it! Lovely for this time of year.
Lavender?! Did I just hear the key word?! Ha-ha, I am a bit obsessed with lavender. Indeed, I've been thinking recently would plums and lavender work together, and there's the perfect answer! Looks and sounds fantastic! Well done, Dominic!
This is really beautiful, like an abstract painting, and I love the idea of the lavender! One for six months time when we have plums again – they’re just starting to bloom now….