Plum, walnut, olive oil & rye upside-down cake

Got a load of plums on your hands? Well then this is the recipe for you. Celebrate autumn with this delicious, deeply-flavoured cake offset by the wonderful perky kick of tangy plums. It’s dairy free, too.

ingredients

serves 10-12

• 2 tbsp demerara sugar

• 8-10 plums, such as Victoria, stoned, halved and cut into quarters

• 100ml walnut oil + 100ml olive oil (or 200ml olive oil)

• 4 eggs, beaten

• 200g soft brown sugar, ideally muscovado

• 150g freshly ground walnuts

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 75g rye flour

• 75g plain white flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Grease and lightly flour a 23cm diameter cake tin. If it's loose-bottomed, wrap the underside tightly in parchment. Sprinkle the base of the tin with the demerara sugar, then arrange the plums tightly in concentric circles until the base is completely covered. Put to one side.

With an electric whisk, beat together the oil and the beaten eggs, then whisk in the sugar until there are no lumps. Fold in the walnuts, cinnamon, rye and plain flour, baking powder and salt and and mix well.

Pour over the plums, then sit on a baking tray and place in the oven for 60-70 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Depending on the juiciness of your plums, you may find it ends up in the oven for a bit longer even. You may want to protect the top from burning with a little baking paper after 45 minutes or so.

Rest the cake in the tin for 20 minutes before running a knife around the edge to loosen it. Place a large plate on top and carefully invert onto the plate. Remove the tin and replace any dislodged pieces of fruit. Leave to cool before eating with creme fraiche or cream.