Jess post: Sugar & Dairy free Plum & Cherry Crumble Cake

Sugar & Dairy free Plum & Cherry Crumble Cake

  

Since I've finished Uni, I've had so much time to myself, so I've been able to get back into baking!  I got an early Christmas/Graduation present this year, something which I have been coveting for a long, long time and much to my delight I finally got a KitchenAid stand mixer! 

Isn't it beautiful!?

Needless to say this little baby has nearly paid for it's self, I've been going a bit baking crazy since I've got it but no one has complained or planned an intervention just yet.

Both of my parents have Diabetes and most of the treats I've been making (Will be posting them soon) have been laden with sugar and full fat butter which isn't good for them so they have either had to drool over them and miss out or eat them and have reactions to the sugar. Being the amazing daughter that I am I decided that I would make an effort to make some things that they could enjoy without worrying about what effect it would have on their health.
Plus, if mine & my baking partner in crime's plan goes ahead we'll be selling our treats at the market. We would also love to tap into the vegan, gluten intolerant , lactose intolerant, diabetic, egg/nut allergy niche as well as the normal stuff. It would especially be interesting to see if there was much of a demand in our area as we're in a rural town and there isn't a great deal of choice apart from one cafe specialising in gluten free food. We'll be blogging our baking adventures & road to selling our stuff on here so stay tuned!!

I adapted my recipe from Taste.com.au. I like to put my own twist on things so I've added Cherries as well as plums & blended them instead of cutting the fruit. I've also added Almond Meal and Vanilla. 

Anyway, here is the recipe for the Plum & Cherry Crumble Cake:

*Pre-heat oven at 180 degrees.

Ingredients

• Melted Dairy Free butter, to grease
• 175g Dairy Free Butter, softened
• 155g (3/4 cup) Agave Syrup
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Essence 
• 225g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g (1 cup) almond meal
• 6 ripe plums, halved, stones removed (Blended)
• 1/2 a cup of Cherry's, stones removed (Blended) 

Crumble topping

• 2 tbs plain flour
• 25g (1/4 cup) rolled oats
• 25g Dairy Free Butter, finely chopped
• 1/3 of a cup of Dates (Blended)
• 45g (1/4 cup) Almond Meal 

Step 1: Blend butter and *Agave Syrup until smooth. 

                                           

*Interesting factoid: Agave is a natural sweetener similar to honey and derived from the plant that is used in making tequila, agave nectar can be used to sweeten both food and drink. This sweet syrup is an ideal alternative to sugar and offers health benefits.

  Step 2: Add dry ingredients to the butter, eggs & Agave. Blend until smooth. You'll find that the mixture is quite thick but that's OK because you will need it for the layer of Plum & Cherry puree to sit on top without seeping through.

Step 3: Blend dates until smooth & add both dates & melted butter to the dry ingredients (flour & almond meal).

Step 4: Add mixture to a lined & greased spring form tin starting with the batter then adding the layers of Plum & Cherry Puree & finishing with the crumble mixture. Bake for 50 -60 minutes on 150 degrees.