Plum, Cinammon And Orange Scented Semolina Cake

A teatime treat that's not too sweet...

I recently bought some fine semolina, with no purpose in mind. It was just sitting in the cupboard and today I decided it was ready for an outing. After rummaging around in the fridge I found some very ripe plums and decided to put them together somehow. I'd once read that using semolina and coconut cream could produce a cake batter of sorts. So thinking of flavours, I decided that cinammon, orange and nutmeg sounded like a good combination to go with the plums. It produced a moist, slightly spicy and not overly sweet dessert and I reckon custard, cashew cream or whipped coconut cream would go perfectly with it. The ingredients are simple and the method is easy.

Ingredients

1 cup fine semolina
1 cup room temp coconut cream (shake the can first)
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 apples
3 plums halved and stones removed
Juice and zest of one orange
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 tsp ground cinammon (depending how much you like the spice)
Fresh nutmeg to grate over the top
Extra sugar to sprinkle

Peel and finely chop the apples and place in a small pan with the juice of the orange. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes until slightly softened. Blend in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to about 180C.

In a large bowl, combine the semolina, sugar, baking powder, coconut cream, zest of the orange, vanilla extract and cinammon. Add in the pureed apple, stir well, and leave to one side for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the semolina to soak up some of the liquid. ​

​After the batter has had its resting time, pour into a lined 9x9 tin and arrange your plum halves on the top without pressing them down. Sprinkle over a little sugar, a grating of fresh nutmeg and bake for approx 30 minutes until its just turning golden. Allow to cool before removing it from the tin, and its as simple as that.