Name: Lighter plum and almond traybake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: Serves 16
Ingredients: 100g unsalted butter, softened; 100g golden caster sugar; 155g jar apple sauce (we used Colman’s Bramley Apple Sauce ); 4 large free-range eggs; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 150g ground almonds; 100g wholemeal flour; ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda; 1 tsp baking powder; ¼ tsp fine sea salt; 12 plums, 5 chopped, 7 cut into halves and quarters; Clear honey for drizzling; 25g toasted flaked almonds; 20cm x 30cm cake tin, greased and lined with baking paper

Lighter plum and almond traybake

For a healthy cake recipe, try this moist and fruity almond and plum cake: it turns a teatime treat into something saintly that’s lower in sugar and fat but still tastes sweet.

Serves16

Hands-on10 min

Oven35 min

DifficultyEasy

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Using an electric hand mixer, whisk the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. In a jug, use a fork to beat the apple sauce with the eggs and vanilla extract until just combined. In a bowl, mix the ground almonds, flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt.

Whisk one-third of the egg mix into the butter and sugar until just combined, followed by one third of the dry ingredients. Repeat until all the wet and dry ingredients have been added. Fold in the chopped plums using a large metal spoon, then pour the mixture into the cake tin and level the top with a spatula. Arrange the plum halves/quarters on top of the mixture, then bake for 30-35 minutes until risen and golden.

Put the cake in its tin on a wire rack to cool, then transfer from the tin to a board, drizzle with honey and scatter with flaked almonds to serve.

Per serving (Serves 16)

Calories

210kcals

Fat

12.8g (4.1g saturated)

Protein

5.7g

Carbohydrates

17.4g (12.6g sugars)

Fibre

1.3g