Poached Plum, Rosemary and Toasted Sesame Cake

Overview

• PREP: 35 MINS
• COOK: 30 MINS
• DIFFICULTY: EASY
• SERVES: 10-12

Background

This is such a delicious recipe. It is a take on one of the flavours we had on our Autumn Cake Menu last year. Anytime in September, October is the perfect time to enjoy it while plums are lovely and ripe. If you wanted to adapt the recipe for late Summer I would suggest using apricots instead of the plums. This is an equally delicious option. Just change the brown sugar for caster sugar when you poach the apricots.

1. Poached Plums

• 700g Water
• 250g Soft Light Brown Sugar
• 3 Sprigs Rosemary
• 700g Plums
• Peel of 1 Orange
• 12g Lemon Juice

Stone and quarter your plums.
Place the water, caster sugar, lemon juice, orange peel and rosemary in a pan and bring to the boil. Place the plum pieces into a bowl and pour the rosemary syrup over. Clingfilm to contact and leave aside to cool completely. Remove the rosemary from the syrup after 25-30 minutes.

2. Toasted Sesame Cake

• 200g Unsalted Butter (soft)
• 200g Soft Light Brown Sugar
• 4 Medium Eggs
• 45g Sesame Seeds
• 200g Self Raising Flour
• 65g Tahini Paste

Preheat your oven to 170 C fan.
You will require an 8” cake tin greased and lined for this recipe.
Lightly toast the sesame seeds until golden brown by spreading them out thinly over a baking tray, and then shuffling them regularly as they colour in the oven. When they are ready leave them aside to cool.
Cream the butter and sugar together using the paddle attachment on your mixing machine. When pale, light and fluffy begin to add your eggs one by one. After the second egg, scrape the sides of the bowl and the paddle down and add half of the flour, mix well and once this is fully incorporated add the remaining two eggs one by one followed by the tahini paste. Mix well and add all of the remaining flour, and sesame seeds.
Place all of the mix into the baking tin, and bake it for approx. 25 – 30 minutes. It is ready when a cake tester or skewer comes out clean in the centre of the sponge.
Leave it to cool for a couple of minutes, and then invert it onto a wire rack and remove the tin. Leave to cool fully.

Poached Plum, Rosemary and Toasted Sesame Cake

3. To Serve

When your sponge and plums are both completely cool. Cut the sponge into portions, and serve with the poached plums, and some mascarpone on the side. I particularly like to serve this sponge deconstructed like this so the colours of the poached plums can be enjoyed as much as all of the lovely flavours.

Bon appetit!