Almond shortcrust cake with plums

Simply a wonderful plum shortcrust cake. If you are planning your first bake with plums this season, you can start with this recipe – you will not be disappointed. Perfect almond shortcrust pastry, delicate and slightly crumbly, melting in your mouth. We previously baked a similar recipe, shortcrust cake with custard and rhubarb, which received lots of positive feedback :). A tried-and-tested classic, this time without pre-baking the base, which considerably shortens the preparation time.

Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry:

• 2½ cups plain flour
• ½ cup ground almonds
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 240 g butter, cold
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Ingredients for the plum filling:

• 1–1.2 kg plums, stones removed and halved – smaller plums halved and larger ones quartered
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tbsp ground almonds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• icing sugar, for dusting after baking

Combine all the ingredients for the shortcrust pastry (either in a food processor or by hand – chop the cold butter with a knife, add the remaining ingredients and knead) until the dough comes together into a neat ball. If it is too crumbly, add 2 tbsp cold water. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30–60 minutes.

Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into two portions, one slightly larger than the other (60:40).

Grease a 23 × 34 cm baking tin with butter and line with baking paper. Roll out the larger portion to fit the tin and use it to cover the base completely. Sprinkle the prepared base with the ground almonds (3 tbsp). Arrange the plums on top, cut side up. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Grate the smaller, remaining portion of shortcrust pastry over the top.

Bake at 180°C for approximately 50 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Enjoy!