It’s the weekend, Soph’s had to go into work and I have the place to myself.. more importantly the kitchen is mine! MUHAHAHA!

After spending last weekend with Soph’s folks, we returned from the country with a batch of freshly-picked plums. All week Soph has gently (yet firmly) suggested I do something with them. I had offered to turn them into a crumble, but we all know that as a pudding addict, I’d have it baked, out of the oven and into my stomach before Soph has even lifted her spoon. So after much deliberation, I opted for Plan B: bake a cake! 

Now, I’m not going to pretend, cooking isn’t my greatest passion, that’s Agent Sophie’s domain. However, cake-baking is something I do occasionally enjoy. Every year, I bake Soph a birthday cake, and when Christmas comes round it’s a chocolate log in a hung stocking for one and all!

I knew the sort of thing I wanted to do, but quantities and timings I wasn’t so sure of, so after a quick search of the internet, I settled on this recipe: Plum Cake.

With ingredients mixing and the oven warming, it was time to go a little avant garde. As I was using yellow plums, I thought the cake might not look vibrant enough. So after a quick forage in the garden I returned with a bowl of freshly-picked autumn raspberries to throw into the mix. 

As a big fan of  The Great British Bake Off, I know only too well the perils of baking with fruit, so I ended up baking the cake for an hour and twenty minutes rather than the 45-55 minutes the recipe suggested because of the additional moisture from the raspberries. No soggy bottoms here, Mary!

If you’re looking for something that’ll use up that autumn harvest, I highly recommend this cake. Not only is it great with a cup of tea, you can also warm it up and eat it as a pud with  custard or ice-cream.

A cake and a pudding rolled into one? That makes me a happy man. And with a wife singing my praises as she tucks into her second slice..  life is sweet.