Ingredients

• 180 g unsalted buttersoftened
• 160 g caster sugar
• 3 eggslarge, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 160 g self-raising flour
• 80 g ground almonds
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• 6 ripe but firm plumsVictoria or black plums, firm to the squeeze; overripe ones flood the batter

For crumble

• 60 g plain flourfor the crumble
• 40 g ground almondsfor the crumble
• 50 g soft light brown sugar
• 55 g cold unsalted buttercubed
• 35 g flaked almondsfrom somewhere with turnover; stale ones taste of cardboard and there is nowhere to hide them

For cream

• 250 ml double creamfridge-cold
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Method

1. 01

   Roast the plums

   Heat the oven to 200C fan / 220C conventional. Sit the plum quarters cut-side up in a roasting tin, in one layer and not touching, and roast for 10-12 minutes until the edges have caught a little colour and the cut faces look glossy and slightly collapsed, with syrup pooling in the tin. They should still hold their quarter shape. Cool for 15 minutes; pour off and keep the syrup for the top.

2. 02

   Line the tin and drop the heat

   Turn the oven down to 175C fan / 195C conventional. Butter a 23 cm loose-bottomed round cake tin, at least 7 cm deep, and line the base and sides with parchment. This cake is heavy with fruit and crumble and wants a tall tin with a collar.

   Other stone fruitApricots want eight minutes of roasting, damsons twelve, peaches halved rather than quartered.

3. 03

   Cream the batter

   Beat the softened butter with the caster sugar for 4-5 minutes with an electric whisk, scraping down twice, until visibly paler and light. Add the eggs one at a time with the 1 tsp vanilla, beating 30 seconds after each. Add a spoonful of the flour if it starts to curdle.

   180 g unsalted butter · 160 g caster sugar · 3 eggs

4. 04

   Fold and spread

   Fold in the self-raising flour and ground almonds, then the milk, stopping as soon as it is uniform. The batter should be thick enough to hold a soft ridge. It needs to support the fruit. Spread it into the tin and level the top.

   160 g self-raising flour · 80 g ground almonds · 2 tbsp whole milk

5. 05

   Set the plums

   Press the cooled plum quarters lightly into the batter, cut-side up, spacing them evenly and leaving the tops proud. Press only halfway in; pushed to the bottom they sink further during baking and leave a soggy seam. Do not add the roasting syrup yet.

6. 06

   Make the crumble

   Rub the cold cubed butter into the plain flour, ground almonds and brown sugar with your fingertips until you have uneven clumps between a pea and a hazelnut, with some loose crumbs. Keep the butter cold and stop while it is still ragged. Fold the flaked almonds through at the end so they stay whole rather than shattering.

   55 g cold unsalted butter · 60 g plain flour · 40 g ground almonds · 50 g soft light brown sugar · 35 g flaked almonds

7. 07

   Top and bake

   Scatter the crumble thickly and loosely over the whole surface, covering the plums. Bake at 175C fan for 45-55 minutes. It is ready when the top is deep golden, the cake has come slightly away from the sides, and a skewer into the sponge between two plums comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter. If the crumble is browning fast at 30 minutes, lay a sheet of foil loosely over the top.

8. 08

   Cool and finish

   Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then lift out onto a rack. Do not try to turn it out upside down, or you will lose the crumble. Brush or spoon the reserved plum roasting syrup over the top while it is warm.

9. 09

   Whip the vanilla cream

   Whisk the cold cream with the icing sugar and vanilla bean paste for 60-90 seconds, just to soft peaks that slump when the whisk is lifted. Stop early. This should pour slightly, not sit up stiff. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with the cold cream alongside.

   250 ml double cream · 1 tbsp icing sugar · 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

   At its best a few hours after bakingSettled, but with the crumble still crisp. Warm, not hot, with cold cream.