The Times Magazine - UK (2021-11-20)

88 The Times Magazine

CHRISTMAS WITH RAHUL

My plum, almond and cardamom cake is a festive take on lemon drizzle

veryone is familiar with lemon drizzle cake,

but there is no reason why you shouldn’t use

the same method with any manner of other

flavourings. I love to use plums at this time of year

because they always feel festive somehow.

E

JAY BROOKS

PLUM, ALMOND

AND CARDAMOM CAKE

Serves: 8-10

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Baking/cooking time: 30-40 minutes

For the cake

• 6 firm plums, stoned and cubed


• 2-3 knobs stem ginger, diced


• 250g self-raising flour, plus a little
  extra to dust the plums and ginger


• 100g ground almonds


• 6 medium free-range eggs


• 300g caster sugar


• 2 tsp ground cardamom


• 300g baking spread


• ½ tsp baking powder


• 2 tsp almond extract

For the plum drizzle

• 1 tsp cinnamon


• 1 tsp mustard powder


• 3 tbsp dark brown sugar


• 8-10 medium-size firm plums,
  stoned and halved (you will need
  about 18 plum halves)

For the frosting

• 250g mascarpone


• 250g double cream


• 50g icing sugar


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 1 tsp almond extract


• Flaked almonds, to decorate

To make the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 160C (180C
   non-fan). Grease and line three 20cm
   tins with baking paper. Toss the plums
   and ginger in 1 tbsp flour. Set aside.


2. Put all the cake ingredients except
   the chopped plums and ginger in a
   bowl. Whisk them together with an
   electric whisk for about a minute, until
   everything is well incorporated.


3. Take a spatula and scrape the sides
   and bottom of the bowl. Now carefully
   fold in the plums and ginger. Divide

the batter evenly between the

prepared baking tins and bake for

25-30 minutes or until a skewer

inserted comes out clean.

4. Once baked, take the cakes out of
   the oven and leave to cool in the tins
   for about 10 minutes, then take them
   out of the tins and cool completely
   on a wire rack.

To make the plum drizzle

Add the cinnamon, mustard and

brown sugar to a pan with 3-4 tbsp

water. Bring to the boil, then add the

plums and let them steep in the sauce

for about 5 minutes. If the sauce

reduces too much, add another

tablespoon of water.

To make the frosting

1. Put the mascarpone in a bowl
   and whisk with an electric whisk
   until smooth.


2. Pour the double cream on top,
   followed by the icing sugar, vanilla
   and almond extract. Whisk to get
   a spreadable consistency. Spoon
   into a piping bag fitted with a star
   nozzle and set aside.

To assemble the cake

1. Once the sponges are cool, place
   one on a plate or a cake stand.
   Pipe some rosettes of mascarpone
   cream on the top of the sponge
   around the edges. Fill the middle
   with about 6 of the plum halves
   and drizzle some plum syrup on top.


2. Place the second sponge on top and
   repeat step 1. Place the third sponge
   on top and decorate with the rest of
   the plum halves and drizzle with the
   rest of the syrup, letting it drip down
   the sides of the cake. Finally, scatter
   some flaked almonds on top. n

You can find all of Rahul

Mandal’s recipes for The Times

at thetimes.co.uk