It is summer and that means lots of seasonal fruits in the market. I love cooking with seasonal fruits, especially since my husband hates fruits and that is the only way I can get him to eat some. I found these beautiful plums at a farmer’s market and decided to make some pound cake with them. I used avocado oil instead of butter for this cake as I personally have found that oil helps to make cakes moist and gives them a better rise. This delicious cake can be served at tea time and to add some extra “plumy” flavor to it, serve it with a plum ginger chutney.  

What you will need:

How to make it:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Sieve the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. 
• Tip: Ensure that the eggs are all at room temperature. 
• Grease a cake pan with butter and dust it with some flour. 
• Cream together sugar and oil until most of the sugar dissolves. You can use any odorless oil for this cake. 
• Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until frothy. 
• Mix in the vanilla extract and milk which is at room temperature, as well. 
• Fold in the flour and mix everything well. 
• Pour the cake batter in the greased baking pan.
• Decorate the top with plum slices per your liking.
• Bake in the oven until the center is almost cooked. This will ensure that your cake does not dry out.  
• Once out of the oven, let it cool completely. 

Make the plum chutney:

• While the cake is baking, make the chutney.
• Add rum, sugar, ginger powder and finely chopped plums in a saucepan.
• Cook on a slow simmer, stirring occasionally until the plums are soft and the mixture starts to thicken.
• Let the mixture cool completely.

To serve:

• You can either cut the cake into two layers. Make a simple syrup by mixing 1 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar.  Soak the bottom layer of cake with the syrup and top with the plum chutney. Add the second layer, brush the top with sugar syrup. 
• You can also serve the chutney on the side.
• Enjoy!