There’s a damson tree outside my house, which means I get my pick of the fruit to make jelly, jam, pickles and more. When damsons are at their absolute prime, though, I love baking with them. The crumble topping here needs to be baked in advance to give a nice crunch to the final cake. And, because the baking time is short, doing this ahead means it bakes with the cake, rather than sitting on top turning pale.
Damson crumble cakes
Prep 25 min
Cook 45 min
Makes 16 mini cakes
145g unsalted butter
50ml neutral oil
180g soft light brown sugar
A pinch of sea salt
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs
200g self-raising flour
8 damsons, halved and stoned
For the crumble
20g whole almonds, skin on, chopped
100g plain flour
1 tbsp jumbo oats
70g golden caster sugar
A pinch of salt
100g cold unsalted butter, cubed
Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5. To make the crumble, mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the cubed butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the crumble on to a baking tray in a single, even layer, bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring once halfway to break it up, then remove and leave to cool completely.
Turn down the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and liberally grease a 16-hole muffin tin (or silicone baking moulds) with butter and put it in the fridge.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, oil and sugar until soft and pale, then mix in the salt, vanilla and lemon zest. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in well after each addition, then incorporate the self-raising flour. Divide the dough between the muffin tin holes, filling them up halfway.
Press half a damson into the top of each cake, sprinkle over the crumble mix, dividing it equally between the 16 cakes, and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool before serving; I like these slightly warm with lashings of cold cream.
