Rustic plum cornmeal cake

This summer has been fairly poor for our Marjorie plum tree, a reasonable crop was developing but then we had a freak wind storm, followed by drought and then rain, so I had to do battle with the local wasps to snaffle enough plums to make this cake. I love English plums but the season is very short and unless you can get your hands on a supply from a generous local grower making jam or any type of preserve can be an expensive business.

I decided to make this cake to showcase my plums and combine them with a tasty polenta cake recipe I had been meaning to bake for sometime. The plums impart a delicious moist tang to each slice and provide colour to a very plain bake.

Stunningly simple and very rustic this cake needs no more embellishment than a light dusting with icing sugar.

So lets bake and create a beauty

What you need

• Oil Spray for the tin
• Couple of English plums - cut into segments, stoned removed
• 175g softened salted butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 3 eggs - free range, beaten
• 150g fine cornmeal / polenta (ensure gluten free)
• 100g gluten free flour - plain
• 2 tsp xanthum gum
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Icing Sugar (optional)

Round loose bottomed cake tin - oil sprayed and base lined 

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 180c
• Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy
• Now add the rest of the ingredients (except the plums and icing sugar) to the mixture and mix until well incorporated.
• Pour into the prepared tin and artistically arrange to plum segments on the top of the cake
• Place in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes until golden, well risen.
• Cool in the tin
• Once cool remove from tin and serve (optionally sprinkled with icing sugar)

I am linking up to this months Alphabakes hosted by Caroline Makes and The More than the occasional baker in rotation. This month's them is P - for plums and polenta in my case.

And also bake of the week created by Casa Costello and hosted this week by Hay in a Day

                                                         

Quick hollandaise sauce

Hollandaise sauce is a great recipe to have in your arsenal, this versatile sauce is often thought to be difficult to make but if you have a food processor to whisk it up in you shouldn't have any issues with your sauce splitting or your sauce failing to thicken.

The origins of Hollandaise is a debated hotly and is claimed by both Holland and France, well whatever I say. All I know that this is a great accompaniment to fish (particularly salmon and as pictured), asparagus (as pictured), eggs benedict and the basis of other great sauces such as bearnasie.

The sauce in the photograph is a foaming hollandaise, where the whisked egg whites are folded back into the sauce, this is a surefire way of ensuring you sauce doesn't split, especially if you need to re heat it.

Oh and just in case you were wondering that lovely local asparagus too and some garlic and rosemary potatoes.

What you need

• 2 eggs - seperated
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 dessert spoon of white wine vinegar
• Rough 3 oz of butter
• Salt and pepper

What you do

• Place the egg yolks in the bowl of your food processor (my magimix has a dinky little bowl which fits inside the large bowl, that is the perfect size)
• In a small bowl, I microwave the lemon juice and vinegar for 30 seconds, until warm. Add this to the egg, whizz in for a few seconds
• In the same bowl melt the butter, and slowly with the processor whizzing drizzle in the butter, until you have a thicken emulsion. Don't hurry this step take your time, all of a sudden you will have a lovely glossy sauce.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• If you want to make foaming hollandiase, whisk up in a bowl the egg white until at the soft peak stage and fold into your golden sauce.
• Serve warm or cold with fish, asparagus or over egg benedict.