Plum, Citrus and Orange Cake - Keke Paramu, Ārani Me Te Aramona
A delicious cake of three simple layers: A citrus almond cake, topped with black Doris plums and finished with a lemon spiked almond cream. Perfect for dessert or a cake for any occasion.
Servings 12 slices
Equipment
- 1 x 19 cm or 20 cm spring-form cake tin
Ingredients
The Orange Cake - Te Keke Ārani
- ½ C (100 g) huka hāura (brown sugar)
- Kiri ārani (orange zest, of 1 orange)
- ¼ C (60 ml) wai ārani (orange juice)
- ½ C (125 ml) C noni ōriwa (olive oil or neutral oil)
- ½ teaspoon tote (salt, fine)
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) wanira (vanilla)
- 1 hēki (egg, size 6)
- ½ C (50 g) peru oneone (ground almonds)
- ¾ C (110 g) puehu parāoa noa (plain flour)
- 1 teaspoon pēkana paura (baking powder)
The Plums - Ngā Paramu
- 850 g kēna (can) paramu pango (black Doris plums, you need 8-9 plums)
- 3 tablespoon (45 ml) wai paramu (plum juice, from the can)
The Almond Cream - Te Kirīmi Aramona
- 55 g pata kūteretere (softened butter)
- ⅔ C (145 g) huka one (caster sugar)
- 2 teaspoon (10 ml) wanira (vanilla)
- ¼ teaspoon tote (salt, fine)
- 1 hēki (size 6)
- Kiri rēmana (lemon zest, of 1 lemon or orange zest)
- 1 C (100 g) peru oneone (almond meal)
- ½ C (75 g) puehu parāoa noa (plain flour)
- 1 teaspoon pēkana paura (baking powder)
- ⅓ C (50 g) aramona kua tapahia (sliced almonds or slivered)
- 1 tablespoon huka one (caster sugar)
- 2 tablespoon (30 ml) wai rēmana (lemon juice, optional)
The Decoration - Te Whakarākei (optional)
- 200 g mascarpone
- ½ C kahitete rēmana (lemon curd, store brought)
Instructions
Preheat the Oven:
- Preheat the oven to 150 °C bake setting or 140 °C fan bake setting.
- Grease a 19 cm or 20 cm springform tin with butter. Line it with baking paper in the base and high up the sides.
Prepare the Orange Sugar:
- Add the huka hāura (brown sugar) to a medium sized bowl. Using a fine grater, grate the kiri ārani (orange zest) on top of the huka (sugar).
- Rub it together with a fork or your hands to intensify the orange flavour.
Mix in the remaining Wet Ingredients:
- Add the wai ārani (orange juice), noni (oil), tote (salt), wanira (vanilla) and the hēki (egg) one by one, whisking well after each ingredient is added.
Combine the final Ingredients:
- Sift the peru oneone (ground almonds), puehu parāoa (flour) and pēkana paura (baking powder) straight in to the wet ingredients.
- Whisk gently for 10 seconds or until it has all come together.
Bake the Orange Cake:
- Pour it in to your prepared tin.
- Bake it for 25 minutes until it is just cooked and springs back in the centre when pressed.
- Remove the keke ārani (orange cake) from the oven and prepare the paramu (plums) to go on top. There is no need to cool the cake at this point.
Arrange the Plums on to the Orange Cake:
- Remove 8-9 paramu (plums) from the can, cut them in half and remove the stones. Note: You made need more plums if they are small.
- Arrange each plum half on to the keke wera (hot cake). You want a single layer of plums with around 1 cm clear from the edge of the cake tin.
- Drizzle the 3 tablespoons of wai paramu (plum juice) on top of the cake and leave it to the side.
Adjust the Oven Temperature:
- Turn up the oven to 170 °C bake setting or 160 °C fan bake setting.
Whip the Butter for the Almond Cream:
- Add the pata kūteretere (softened butter), huka one (caster sugar), wanira (vanilla) and tote (salt) in to a medium bowl.
- Whip on high for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the hēki (egg) and whip for another 20 seconds or so.
Add the remaining Ingredients:
- Using a fine grater, grate in the kiri rēmana (lemon zest).
- Add the peru oneone (ground almonds), puehu parāoa noa (plain flour) and pēkana paura (baking powder).
- Whakaranuhia (mix to combine).
Spread the Almond Cream on to the Plums:
- Dollop spoons of this mixture on top of the paramu (plums) and gently smooth it out.
- Sprinkle the aramona kua tapahia (sliced almonds) on top and finish it with the sprinkling of huka one (caster sugar).
Bake the Cake:
- Bake for 40 minutes.
- Note: Baking it for 40 minutes will mean the centre of the kirīmi aramona (almond cream) will be quite soft, which is the texture I love. However, if you want it set a bit more, bake for 10 more minutes.
Squeeze over Lemon Juice:
- Pull it from the oven and squeeze the wai rēmana (lemon juice) over the hot cake. This is optional but adds a fresh pop to the keke (cake).
Cool the Plum and Almond Cake:
- If you are having the keke (cake) warm, cool it in the tin for 10 minutes and then remove the outside of the tin. Allow to cool for another 10 minutes before serving. Slice it carefully and plate.
Serve the Plum and Almond Cake:
- Serving Option 1: Serve the cake warm with aihikirīmi (ice cream).
- Serving Option 2: Let the cake cook, dust with puehu huka (icing sugar) and serve with a unsweetened miraka tepe (yogurt).
Decorate the Cake:
- Serving Option 3: If you are decorating the cake, cool in the tin for 10 minutes, remove the side of the tin and allow to cool for another 10 minutes with the base still attached.
- Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely but make sure you keep the cake upright, don't flip it so they top of the cake stays in tact.
- Once it is cool, pipe on the mascarpone and kahitete rēmana (lemon curd). If you want the mascarpone streaked with the lemon curd, combine the two and swirl the lemon curd through the mascarpone a couple of times before adding it to the piping bag.
- Add a few edible flower petals to top it off.
Store the Cake:
- Store this keke (cake) in a sealed container in a cool place. It will develop in flavour as it sits and in my opinion is even better a few days after it is baked. It will keep well for up 5 days.In the hotter months you can store the uncut cake it in the refrigerator but bring it room temperature or gently warm it before eating.