Plum Cakes with Coconut and Hazelnut Crumble

I've had a bee in my bonnet. I recently came across this phrase and love the way it rolls on the tongue......'bee in my bonnet.' And according to Akber, it fits me to perfection. You see I constantly seem to have a bee in my bonnet. Correction- bees.

Whether it's transforming a simple fruit into a luxurious dessert, learning a new craft, spring cleaning or playing with unusual flavors, I'm always on the lookout for the next task that I want to achieve. An unknown journey to embark upon, a new skill to add to my cap.....or bonnet in this case.

With the summer holidays upon us and the seething sun outside we have been forced to hibernate indoors. I thought this to be the perfect time to whip out the books, sharpen the pencils and teach myself to make a video.

It has been something I have wanted to do ever since the first few videos appeared on food blogs and I was enamoured by them. The thought daunted me tremendously as I sat pondering whether I should or not for many weeks. But then I thought back to the first time I held my DSLR- the excitement in my belly, the thrill in my heart and joy of seeing my images on screen. There was no turning back.

My first attempt however, was a complete failure- trying to take a video and be in it was rather ambitious for my first attempt. And top that with a new recipe I was concocting in my head- a marriage of plums and chocolate in a cake. Not only was the video a flop but so was the cake.

But with that bee still buzzing incessantly, I marched on. I knew I wanted flour, butter and sugar to be the main protagonists in this video. Some fruit for a punch of color and two bouncing kidlets to complete the scene. 

And so this plum cake was born. A light crumb and a bit of fruit to wile away the guilt. And because crumble makes everything better, that made the perfect topping. So go ahead and make it, share it and relish.....

I hope you enjoyed this video as much as me, Aliya and Maryam had making it. I must also thank Russell for his patience and keen enthusiasm to share his wealth of knowledge on the subject. So much so that another one is in the pipeline. Would you like to see more?

Wishing you a beautiful and inspired week ahead.

Edited to add: Sips and Spoonfuls has been shortlisted in the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2012! (enter an email to see the list and vote) http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/blog-awards-2012-vote

Plum Cakes with Coconut and Hazelnut Crumble

Ingredients:
For the cake:
7 tbs butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt 1/2 cup buttermilk

4 plums- sliced
2 tbs turbinado sugar

For the crumble:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup muscavado sugar
5 tbs cold butter- cubed
1/2 cup dessicated coconut- toasted
1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped
3 tbs ice cold water
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade. Line a muffin tray with liners.

To make the crumble, mix all the ingredients together except water (you can do this by hand or in a food processor. Add the water and rake gently with a fork until some clumps are formed. Freeze for 10 minutes.

To make the cake, mix together all the dry ingredients. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy and light. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients followed by the buttermilk in two additions. Sprinkle sliced plums with turbinado sugar. Fill liners 2/3 with batter. Arrange plum slices on top followed by crumble. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Makes 9 mini plum cakes.