Blackberry, plum, olive oil and rosemary cake

Autumn

There’s so much about this cake that I love, so I’ve decided to list it all for you here. First, this
cake is made with 100 per cent organic rye flour – healthy, light and full of character. Second, there’s no butter in this cake at all; I like to use a light olive oil instead. Third, it’s packed with fruit – plums and blackberries, two of my favourite autumn treats. Last, I add rosemary, a herb that grows all year round and frequents my kitchen daily. It’s so fragrant and perfect with the plums. Keeps for a week in a tin!

Makes 12–16 squares

Ingredients

10 plums
2 handfuls of blackberries
Juice and finely grated zest of ½ lemon
2 tsp finely chopped rosemary leaves, plus a few whole sprigs
200g (7oz) unrefined caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
4 eggs
225ml (8fl oz) mild, light olive oil, plus extra for greasing
225g (8oz) rye flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt

Method

Heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/gas mark 5. Grease and line a square baking tray (about 25 x 25cm/10 x 10in) with baking parchment.

Halve the plums and remove the stones. If they are stubborn, use the tip of the knife to tease them out. Place the plum halves in a bowl with the blackberries, lemon juice and zest, chopped rosemary and 25g (1oz) of the sugar. Tumble everything together gently.

Put the eggs and remaining sugar in a bowl and, using a hand-held electric whisk (if you have one), whisk well until the mixture starts to thicken. Slowly pour in the oil, whisking continuously until the mixture is light and airy. Pour in the sugary, lemony juices from the bowl containing the plums and blackberries (leave the fruit in the bowl) and whisk again to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the rye flour, baking powder and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg and sugar mixture to form a batter.

Pour the batter carefully into the prepared baking tray. Arrange the fruit over the top of the cake – some of it will sink into the batter, but that’s okay – and scatter over the whole rosemary sprigs. Bake the cake for
35–40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, then remove from the oven and leave to cool before sprinkling with a little caster sugar and serving in squares.

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