The house was filled with the orange and cinnamon scent of this delicate cake. The perfect introduction to the lovely autumn season that is approaching. Divine, cloudy, moist on the inside and slightly sweet to balance the sharp sour tones of the plums in season. Paired perfectly with vanilla ice cream or whipped vanilla flavoured cream for the chilly days of October. Preferably enjoyed inside with a warm cup of tea or outside in the garden with a herbal tea after the first rainfall of the season. I hope you resonate with this and love this cake as much as I did.
YELLOW PLUM OLIVE OIL CAKE
INGREDIENTS (makes 1 rectangular cake of 28 cm x 21 cm)
195 g all purpose flour
2 teaspoons (tsp) of baking powder
125 g light brown sugar
80 g good quality unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
80 ml virgin olive oil
the zest of 1 orange
the contents of half vanilla pod
¼ cinnamon stick, freshly grated or cinnamon powder
¼ tsp fine sea salt
6 yellow plums, washed, halved + pitted
For dusting: confectioners sugar
EXECUTION
Grease the rectangular form with some butter, line it with a piece of baking paper and set it aside for later.
Preheat the oven at 175°C (conventional).
In a stand or hand mixer – with the paddle attachment on – beat the softened butter for 2-3 minutes. Then add the light brown sugar. Cream it for another 7 minutes until the butter is lighter in colour and texture.
Add one egg and mix until it is completely incorporated. Then add the second egg and beat to a smooth mixture.
Add the contents of the vanilla pod, the orange zest, the grated cinnamon stick, the salt and mix until the flavours are well incorporated with the rest of ingredients. While mixing on low speed, add gradually the olive oil while pausing in between to scrape down the mixture from the sides of the bowl.
Gradually add the flour and baking powder while mixing gently with a wooden or rubber spatula until you get a smooth and homogenous batter.
Transfer the dough to the rectangular baking form and decorate with the yellow plums.
Bake the cake in preheated oven at 175°C (conventional) for 30-35 minutes until you insert a wooden skewer in the middle of the cake and it comes out clean.
Remove it from the oven and let it cool on a cooling rack. When cool, dust it with some confectioners sugar and serve.
NOTES
1: When decorating the cake with the plums make sure that the fruit is only half way dipped in the cake. In this way the fruit will still be visible after the rise of the cake in the oven.
2: Enjoy it plain or served with vanilla ice cream or vanilla flavoured whipped cream.
3: Keeps fresh in the refrigerator stored in an airtight food container.
xx
Alexandra
