This plum upside-down cake is perfect for bringing a touch of Autumn to the kitchen. Made using thyme-infused honey and ground hazelnuts, it has a fragrant yet earthy taste. Enjoy as a dessert or with your afternoon cup of tea. Pick up English plums from our Greengrocers.

Ready in: 65 minutes

Serves: 8

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
250g caster sugar
50g runny honey
6 thyme sprigs
1 tsp salt
8 plums, halved and pitted
2 medium eggs
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
75g toasted hazelnuts, whizzed to a powder

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 23cm round cake tin.

2. Put 150g sugar into a saucepan over a medium heat to melt, swirling the pan rather than stirring. When the sugar begins to turn golden in colour, add the honey, 3 sprigs of thyme and salt. Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly and pour into the cake tin. Move the thyme sprigs into the centre of the tin then cover with a single layer of the halved plums. Chop the remaining plums smaller to fill gaps, if needed.

3. Beat the butter with the remaining sugar until pale and creamy then add the eggs one at a time, beating the first egg into the mixture before adding the next. Sift in the flour and baking powder together, then gently fold in to the egg mix along with the hazelnuts.

4. Strip the leaves off the remaining thyme sprigs and fold through. Pour the mix over the plums and smooth the top.

5. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then carefully invert the cake onto a plate. Peel off the baking paper and leave to cool before slicing.