The last few days have been just wonderful…my parents visited…lots of yummy food, lots of chats and even more laughter…does it get any better than this…. one of the cakes I made was a simply delicious recipe I found in one (of my MANY cookbooks)…Goats Cheese and Fig Cake (from Books for Cooks Favourite Recipes 4, 5 and 6)…as I didn’t have any figs to hand, I used plums…SO worth trying, I hope I can tempt you…

1

Served warm…it doesn’t need anything to dress it up, though, if you fancy maybe a dollop of crème fraiche (my favourite) or some vanilla ice cream…. Totally delicious!! You will need a 24cm springform tin. Line the base with buttered Baking Parchment. Sprinkle the buttered parchment with sugar (this gives such a crunchy finish) and arrange the plums cut side up (though the recipe calls for them to be cut side down – I mistakenly put them the other way, AND it worked beautifully!!).

To make the cake, you sift the flour, baking powder. Beat the butter, sugar and goat’s cheese together until white and fluffy. Beat the eggs a little together and then add them to the mixture in three batches. Sift in the flour and baking powder and gently fold in. Spread the cake mixture evenly over the plums.

Bake until the sides of the cake have pulled away from the tin and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. Give or take it should bake in 50 minutes…I baked it in my Aga, so it’s a bit of a moveable feast…just keep a close eye!
Having completely cooled the cake (in the tin), run a knife around the sides to loosen it and flip it out onto your Cake Plate…
The apricot jam, pushed through a sieve, should be melted (be careful as it gets hot quite quickly) and brushed onto the top (and sides if you wish) of the cake. Then all that’s left is to relish EVERY mouthful…Dust some icing sugar on each slice to make it EXTRA special…ENJOY!!!

You will need:

  • 3tbsp caster (granulated)sugar
  • 4 large plums (you may need more depending on size)
  • 175g plain (all purpose) flour
  • 1tbsp baking powder
  • 175g softened unsalted butter
  • 200g soft creamy goats cheese (I used Ardsallagh…but, as long as the goats cheese is creamy, it will be perfect…the choice is yours)
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1tbsp apricot jam (Bonne Maman was my choice)

1