“Notting” But A Tastey Plum Tray Bake With A Cheesecake Swirl.

Put your aprons on!!!! Dieters look away.  Below is the work of the diet devil, the cake lurer….the sweet siren!!! 

This is the most delicious recipe for a cheesecake bake that will have you corridor creeping, or even leaping, through the night in order to experience the lovely fluffy texture contrasting with the sweetness of the baked plums on your lips.  One slice will never be enough  and be warned now…..within seconds you will be digging in full heartedly with the nearest soup spoon, shoveling as much of this heavenly dessert in to your mouth as possible….it is pure ambrosia.  The fabulous thing about this tray bake is that it can be eaten hot or cold, with tea or with ice cream and although it makes ten pieces it is also a perfect meal for one for those of you trying to mend a broken heart…

Ingredients

200g tub cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla bean extract
3 tbsp caster sugar
4 medium eggs
175g unsalted butter, softened
175g dark muscovado sugar
200g self-raising flour
400g ripe plums, halved, stoned and roughly chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Grease and line a 28cm x 18cm shallow baking tin with baking parchment, making sure that the paper comes higher than the rim of the tin.

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft. Add the vanilla bean paste or extract, caster sugar and one of the eggs, and beat using a hand-held electric whisk until smooth.

Place the remaining eggs, butter, muscovado sugar and flour in a separate bowl. Beat for about 2 minutes until pale and creamy.

Spread half of the creamed flour mixture onto the base of the tray, then dollop half of the cream cheese mixture over it, spreading an uneven swirl through the base mixture. Scatter with half of the plums.

Spoon the remaining creamed flour mixture on top and dot with the rest of the cream cheese.

Scatter with the remaining plums then bake for about 45 minutes until risen and just firm to touch. Leave to cool in the tin before cutting into pieces. Serve warm or cold, with ice cream.

When cooked, the surface of this tray bake should feel just firm to the touch, but bear in mind that it will firm-up slightly as it cools. If over-baked, it will lose its moist texture.

N.B. Recipe is curtesy of www.waitrose.com