Plum cake

Method

• step 1

  Put the teabag and the 3 tbsp sugar in a deep frying pan and add 500ml water. Bring to a simmer and add the plums cut-side down. Cook for 5 minutes, then turn them over and cook for another 5 minutes. At this point, you should be able to flick the stones out easily. Cool completely, then lift the plums out of the syrup, discard the teabag (and bubble it if it seems too thin, you want it thick enough to glaze the cake at the end).

• step 2

  Heat the oven to 170C/fan 150C/gas 3. Butter and line a 23 x 13cm loaf tin. Beat the butter until it is light. Whizz 1 tbsp caster sugar with ½ tsp of the tea from the bag in a spice grinder (or crush them in a mortar). Beat this and the remaining sugars with the butter until the mixture is light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, vanilla, flour and baking powder until you have a thick batter.

• step 3

  Spoon into the tin and add a layer of plums to the top, making sure there is cake visible around the edges of the tin. The plums will sink as the cake cooks. Bake the cake for 55 minutes-1 hour, the cake will pull away from the sides of the tin when it’s ready. Cool for 5 minutes, then tip the cake out gently and turn it the right way up. Brush the syrup over the top several times, letting it sink in each time. Cool completely.