Plum and lemon ring cake

Plum ring cake. Photo / Babiche Martens.

A helpful tip when using chopped fruit in cakes is to toss it in a little flour — the fruit will disperse evenly through the batter. Ring cakes are perfect to serve for a morning tea. Why not surprise your colleagues with a freshly baked treat?

Ingredients

2 cups	chopped plums
1 tsp	flour
80g	butter, softened
¾ cup	sugar
2	eggs
1 tsp	vanilla essence
2 Tbsp	vegetable oil
2 Tbsp	lemon juice
1 Tbsp	lemon zest
1 ¼ cups	plain flour
½ tsp	baking powder
¼ tsp	baking soda
A pinch of	salt
½ cup	ricotta or sour cream
Creme fraiche or cream	to serve

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 170C. Grease and line the base of a 24cm ring tin.
2. Place the plums in a large bowl and stir through the 1 tsp of flour.
3. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs, beating in one atatime, then the vanilla. Stir through the oil, lemon juice and zest.
4. Add the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, ricotta and plums, combining well. Pour the batter into the tin, smoothing the top. Bake for 50 minutes until the centre is set and a skewer comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the tin before removing and placing on a serving plate. Serve with creme fraiche or lightly whipped cream.