Plum Upside down Cake

Our neighbours Tim and Sarah have an Italian plum tree that is spewing plums so I happily took a bag over and helped myself to enough plums for a lovely upside down cake.

Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed golden brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup (or honey)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
  
• 6 large plums, halved, pitted, each half cut into 6 wedges

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir 6 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and cardomom and golden syrup in a bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes until butter melts and sugar and syrup blend in, forming thick, smooth sauce. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Arrange plums in overlapping concentric circles atop sauce.

Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Using Kitchen Aid, beat remaining 6 tablespoons butter in large bowl until light. Add sugar and beat until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, mixing just until blended. Spoon batter evenly over plums.

Bake cake until golden and tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer to rack; cool in pan 30 minutes.

Using knife, cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Place platter atop cake pan. Invert cake; place platter on work surface. Let stand 5 minutes. Gently lift off pan.

Give to loved ones with whipped cream for maximum brownie points :)

Whole wheat bread

Is there anything better than a house filled with the smell of freshly baked bread??

Ingredients:

• 1 packet instant yeast
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup AP flour (or white bread flour)
• 1 1/8 cups warm water
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar (or I used golden syrup for an Australian touch)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
  

Method:

• Mix water, yeast and sugar and allow to stand until foamy (5 minutes)
• Mix in all other ingredient (I used a kitchen Aid with a dough hook)
• Need dough for 5-8 minutes (or whenever your arms get too tired!)
• Place dough in an oiled bowl in a warm place for 1 hour
• Punch down dough, knead briefly and place in oiled loaf pan in a warm place for another hour
• Preheat oven to 350F
• Bake bread in loaf pan for 30 minutes
• Allow to cool for 1 hour before slicing (though at our house this turns into 10 minutes before we can't help ourselves)
• Smear liberally with butter :)