This recipe is for a deliciously soft and light cake with a fruity edge, Vanilla & Plum Cakes.
But first I must apologise for the delay in posting the recipe and the video. I also need to apologise for those who may have tried to access the blog without success. This was due to a technical issue which was created by an automatic update. Hopefully the issue is now resolved and all is back to normal.
So, back to this recipe. These little cakes, which I made in a muffin pan, are simply wonderful. They take very little effort or time to make, but they provide a wonderfully tasty treat. They can be enjoyed as cakes or as a dessert with some cream, perhaps.
With vanilla being the main flavour and with plum adding another, fruity, dimension they are very good indeed.
A muffin pan is good to make these cakes in. Paper cases can be used if desired. However I lined the bottom of the muffin pan cups with parchment and I greased and floured the sides to prevent sticking.
Even with the greasing and flouring of the pan I still had to gently loosen the cakes with a small spatula after baking. Maybe a heavier coating of flour would have made it easier, but it was not a problem.
I also sprinkled some demerara sugar over the top of my cakes before baking, which gave the cakes a slight crunch on the top which was very nice.

The cakes turned out very well indeed and tasted great.
Another great recipe, particularly as Christmas approaches is my Christmas Cake Cupcakes
I should mention that I saw the recipe on a video on Youtube, and I used that with some minor variations to make my cakes.
Vanilla & Plum Cakes – Quick & Easy
Course: Cakes, MuffinsCuisine: cakesDifficulty: easy10
servings15
minutes30
minutesIngredients
200g(1 1/3 cups, based on scooping packed flour into a 250ml cup) plain flour
100g(1/2 cup) caster sugar
12g(3 tsp) baking powder
2 medium eggs(large in USA)
100ml(7 tbsp minus 1 tsp) flavourless oil
90ml(6 tbsp) milk
4 plums, halved and stoned and then sliced into thin wedges.
25g(2 tbsp)demerara sugar
5ml(1 tsp) vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F.
- Grease and flour 10 holes of a muffin pan(or line with paper cases).
- Place the eggs into a large bowl and whisk until pale and well combined.
- Add the sugar and whisk again until the mixture is slightly thickened.
- Pour in the oil and whisk thoroughly to combine.
- Next pour in the milk and vanilla extract and whisk again.
- Mix the baking powder into the flour and then sift that over the wet mixture.
- Gently whisk the flour into the wet mixture until fully combined.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate any remaining flour.
- Divide the batter evenly into the 10 cups of the muffin pan.
- Gently place slices of plum(I used 5 slices per cake) into the batter, pushing down but leaving the slices visible.
- Sprinkle demerara sugar over the top.
- Bake in the oven, until the cakes have risen and coloured on the top, and a skewer test comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.