The Dreamstress

When I posted about Ayyam-i-ha some readers asked for my recipe for gluten free plum cake, so here it is.

I’ve made this cake with both gluten and gluten-free variants, and let me tell you, while the regular gluten recipe is good, the gluten free recipe is amazing.

Preheat the oven to 425F/220C

Have ready a 9 x 9″ pan, greased

The fruit:

• 3 cups sliced plums (I like black doris, but other varieties work too)
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2T real vanilla (skip it if you only have the fake stuff)

Shortbread dough:

• 3/4 cup fine ground rice flour
• 3/4 cup corn flour (make sure it doesn’t have any added wheat if you are worried about the gluten)
• 1/4 cup arrowroot powder (corn starch will do if you can’t find arrowroot powder)
• 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 5 tablespoons chilled butter (or shortening)
• 1 1/4 cups plain yoghurt

Combine your fruit, sugar, and vanilla in a saucepan, bring to a boil, turn down and simmer for 5 minutes.  While your fruit is cooking you can make your shortbread.

For the shortbread, combine all the dry ingredients, making sure to sift the arrowroot, baking powder, and baking soda.

Grate (yes, grate!) the butter into the dry ingredients, and use a pastry cutter or fork to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is in very small pieces.

Make a hole in the centre of the flour/butter mixture, and pour in the yoghurt.  Stir quickly until the wet and dry ingredients are just mixed.  Do not over-mix.

Drop spoonfulls of the dough into the bottom of the pan and roughly smooth out so that the dough covers the entire base of the pan.  Any extra dough can be set aside for the top of the fruit.

Spoon the hot fruit over the dough.  Pour over any extra fruit syrup as well, as it will soak into the dough.

Drop small chunks of any leftover dough evenly across the top of the fruit.

Stick in the oven, and bake just until the dough on top is turning golden brown (20-25min)

Cool, slice, and enjoy!