Plum and almond sponge cake

Plum and almond sponge cake
  • Serves icon Serves 8
  • Time icon Takes 25 minutes to make, 50 minutes to cook, plus cooling

A gloriously moist cake, this plum, marzipan and almond sponge can be drizzled with icing for a teatime treat or served warm with cream as an indulgent pud. It gets bonus points for being freezable, too.

See our plum and custard cake, too.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
472kcals
Fat
31.6g (12.4g saturated)
Protein
8.7g
Carbohydrates
41g (32.8g sugars)
Salt
0.4g
Calories
472kcals
Fat
31.6g (12.4g saturated)
Protein
8.7g
Carbohydrates
41g (32.8g sugars)
Salt
0.4g

Ingredients

  • 200g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 200g golden caster sugar
  • 4 large free-range eggs
  • 100g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 130g ground almonds
  • 50g roasted hazelnuts, chopped
  • 120g golden marzipan, chopped
  • 500g (about 12) ripe plums, stoned and cut into quarters
  • 20g flaked almonds, toasted
  • 60g icing sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Lightly grease a 23cm square tin that’s 5cm deep and line the base with baking paper.
  2. In a big bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a hand-held electric whisk until pale, light and fluffy, then gradually add the eggs, whisking between each addition (add a little flour if the mix starts to curdle). Sift over the flour and baking powder, add the ground almonds and fold in gently with a big spoon. Fold in the hazelnuts and marzipan.
  3. Pour the mix into the tin and scatter the plum quarters over, pushing them down a little into the mixture. Bake for 50 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Scatter with the flaked almonds.
  4. Cool a little in the tin and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap well in baking paper and cling film before freezing for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly.
  5. For the lemon icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add the lemon juice and stir to a single-cream consistency. Use a teaspoon or piping bag to drizzle the icing over the cake, then cut into squares and serve as a teatime treat. Alternatively, omit the icing, wrap in foil and warm in the oven for about 10 minutes at 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Serve warm as a pudding, with cream.

Subscribe

Fancy getting a copy in print?

Subscribe to our magazine

Rate & review

Rate

Reviews

Share a tip

Or, how about...?

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Marzipan recipes

Marzipan and mascarpone cake with summer fruit

Light marzipan sponge is topped with creamy mascarpone icing, wonderfully...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Plum recipes

Sticky plum and custard cake

Don’t know what to do with all those plums? This...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Sweet pancake recipes

Sweet dutch baby

Imagine an oversized Yorkshire pudding that puffs up gloriously in...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Chocolate-dipped plums with Armagnac marzipan

Turn a humble piece of fruit into something special with...

Subscribe to our magazine

Food stories, skills and tested recipes, straight to your door... Enjoy 5 issues for just £5 with our special introductory offer.

Subscribe

Unleash your inner chef

Looking for inspiration? Receive the latest recipes with our newsletter

We treat your data with care. See our privacy policy. By signing up, you are agreeing to delicious.’ terms and conditions. Unsubscribe at any time.