Tart London: How to make Plum Crumble Cake

The plum is a juicy, sweet, crimson jewel that you have to make the most of come autumn. There is no point in bothering with the hard round rocks you find in the supermarket the rest of the year. We had our first one straight from the tree a few weeks back. The taste stops you in your tracks, transporting you back to childhood memories of harvesting baskets of the fruit. Only half would ever make it back to the kitchen!

The plums we are talking about here are Victoria plums, as opposed to greengages, Marjorie’s Seedlings or damsons. Victoria plums are more oval in shape, with crimson to yellow skins and a soft golden flesh compared with the dark-skinned, round imported plums. Make sure you pick up the right ones.

When plums are so fresh and delicious, they are wonderful simply on their own — perhaps chopped up in a bowl of granola with a dollop of yoghurt, or lightly poached and spooned over a steaming bowl of porridge on a cooler morning. They’re so sweet they can easily replace your mid-afternoon chocolate biscuit. And, of course, they’re magnificent in puddings. Pies, cakes, crumbles, compotes — take your pick.

One easy, quick dessert is to simply roast a punnet of halved, de-stoned plums with some soft brown sugar, Marsala wine, a drizzle of olive oil and a few sprigs of thyme. But if you’ve got more time, try this superb cake, which we’ve been making for years and start excitedly thinking about at the beginning of autumn. It’s heavenly, either as a teatime treat or, even better, still warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For the crumble topping

25g ground almonds

25g unsalted butter, chopped into chunks

25g soft brown sugar

25g chopped, roasted hazelnuts

For the cake

125g unsalted butter, softened

180g soft brown sugar

150g ground almonds

150g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 eggs

150g natural yoghurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

10 Victoria plums, halved, stones removed Vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche to serve