• Making time 1 hour 40 minutes
• Preparation time  40 minutes

Ingredients

For the streusel topping

• 25 g self-rising flour
• 25 g caster sugar
• 25 g butter, diced
• 40 g flaked almonds

For the cake

• 175 g butter at room temperature
• 175 g caster sugar
• Three eggs beaten
• 175 self-rising flour
• Half a teaspoon of almond essence
• One teaspoon of baking powder
• 50 g ground almonds
• 400 g red plums, halved, stoned and thickly sliced
• Sifted icing sugar, to decorate

Love can change a person the way a parent can change a baby-awkwardly, and often with a great deal of mess.

– Lemony Snicket

Preparation:

1. Make the streusel topping, put the flour and sugar in a small bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertip until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, stir in the flaked almonds.
2. Make the cake, and beat the butter and sugar together in the mixing bowl until pale and creamy. Gradually mix in an alternate spoonful of beaten egg and flour until all has been added, stir in the baking powder, ground almonds and almond essence.
3. Spoon the cake mixture into a 23 cm spring-form tin lined with non-stick baking paper over the base and sides, spread surface level, arrange the sliced plums randomly over the top then sprinkle with the streusel topping.
4. Bake in a preheated oven, 1800C set the timer for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, covering the cake loosely with foil halfway during cooking if the top appears to be browning too quickly.
5. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes then remove the tin and leave the cake to cool completely, when ready to serve to remove the lining paper and transfer to a serving plate, dust with sifted icing sugar, cut into wedges and serve plain with a spoonful of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.