While I usually try not to post 2 dessert recipes in a row I couldn’t help myself with this one. It is just so good. The spiced plum cakes are gluten free and work so well with juicy ripe plums and teamed with orange ice cream is a match made in heave. Let’s face it, I do know that not many people can be bothered making ice cream but I have not seen roasted orange ice cream anywhere, it really is very straightforward to make so Please Please do try this, I hope you can hear me say!… This will be amazing at Christmas with plum pudding or any of the other rich desserts eaten at that time of year. For a fruit which I think is somewhat underrated it really comes up trumps in this recipe.

Spiced Plum Cakes

7oz almond paste
1/2 banana
1 egg and 1 egg yolk mashed
2 tbsp almond meal
1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
1/2 tsp salt
3tbsp butter melted
2 ripe plums
1tbsp coconut palm sugar

Quarter the plums and remove the stone
Slice each in half and place in a bowl with the coconut palm sugar and leave to soften for a while

Beat the almond paste and banana well
Add the eggs and beat well and scrape down the bowl to ensure it is all incorporated.
Whisk the almonds meal, salt and spice together then with a mixer on a low speed add the melted butter and the spiced flour mix to the bowl and mix well until smooth and there are no lumps.
Chill the batter for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 170C
Grease a 12 muffin tin or silicone financier mold if you have it
If you have a piping bag use it to pipe the batter into the tin up to half way, otherwise just spoon in.
Press 1 or 2 plum wedges into the batter and bake for about 20 minutes until they are set and golden brown
Cool for a few minutes in the pan before removing. These are delicious as they are or especially good with the ice cream below.

Roasted Orange ice cream
2 oranges washed quartered but not peeled
480gr milk
480gr cream
120gr sugar
6 egg yolks

Oven at 200C
Line a baking sheet with foil, lay a rack on top and place the oranges quartered on it
Roast them until the skins are blackened – turn them after about 20 minutes and this will take about 40 minutes total time.
Cool them then blend with half the milk
Pour this mixture into a pot with the rest of the milk, all the cream and 50gr of the sugar
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until they are light and fluffy
Heat the milk mixture over a medium heat until it is beginning to bubble at the edges
While whisking the eggs, pour about half the milk into them whisking all the while until everything is blended well and there are no sugar lumps
Keeping it off the heat, add the egg mixture back into the rest of the milk until combined. Using a wooden spoon with a flat edge, stir this over a medium heat until the mixture is all warm and starting to hold on the back of the spoon without running off. (Temp will be 180F). It should look thicker.

Turn off the heat, strain the mixture and set it over an ice bath. Stir from time to time until cool and you can cover and put into the fridge overnight before using your ice cream maker or putting it into the ice cream maker once cool and churn as directed.