recipe

Plum, Hazelnut and Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

? 175g butter, plus extra for greasing

? 500g plums

? 175g light muscovado sugar

? 175g self-raising flour

? 175g ground hazelnuts

? 3 eggs

? 1tsp baking powder

? 50g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa), chopped

? 2tbsp hazelnuts

? 2tbsp redcurrant, damson or plum jelly

Method

? Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.

? Butter and line the base of a round 20cm cake tin.

? Halve and stone four plums, set aside for later, then roughly chop the remaining plums.

? Put the sugar, butter and ground hazelnuts into a large bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or electric hand mixer for one to two minutes, until smooth and light.

? Add in the eggs, flour and baking powder and beat some more.

? Stir in the chopped plums and chocolate.

? Tip into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top.

? Arrange the halved plums over the top of the mixture, pressing them down lightly, then scatter over nuts.

? Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until the top is golden and the cake feels firm to the touch.

? Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out, remove the paper and cool on a wire rack.

? Heat the jelly, then brush over the top of the cake before serving.

? Serve just warm with ice cream or cold as cake.

The great thing about this plum, hazelnut and chocolate cake is that it can be served warm or cold, and it is great either way.

If you are serving it warm I would suggest accompanying it with ice cream, or eat cold with your morning coffee for a sweet breakfast treat.

For variation, you could choose to swap the hazelnuts for ground and whole almonds, which work just as well.

I hope you enjoy this perfect family friendly cake!