italian plum torte

My favourite fruit tree in our yard is the Italian purple plum tree at the back of the garden. Finally big enough to produce plums a few years ago, we now get buckets of plums every year. I love them fresh off the tree, dried, stewed and this recipe is now in the top five cakes I make.
The edges are crispy, chewy goodness and the middle is soft, fruity cake!

1 cup gluten-free flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp vanilla
20 (approx) Italian plum halves, fresh or defrosted
2 Tbsp brown sugar
icing sugar

Butter the sides of a 10" spring form pan and cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom. Heat oven to 350F.
If you are using frozen plums, make sure they are mostly defrosted.
In a small bowl, mix the gluten-free flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In large mixer bowl, cream the butter and add the 3/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar. When well creamed, add the eggs one at a time, orange zest and vanilla.
Reduce the speed on your mixer and add the dry ingredient mixture just until nicely blended.
Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan and pat into place with damp fingers. Place the plum halves on the dough so they are not overlapping. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp brown sugar and place in the middle rack of the oven.
Bake for about 1 hour. Cool your cake on a wire rack before removing it from the pan. Place on your cake board or plate and sprinkle with icing sugar.
We served this Christmas eve with whipped coconut cream for those not able to tolerate dairy.

Whipped coconut cream

1 can coconut milk
2 Tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Refrigerate the coconut milk in the can for at least an hour. Open the can and separate the liquids from solids by scooping off the solids into a bowl and pouring the liquids into a cup. Set aside the liquid coconut milk.
Beat the coconut milk solids with icing sugar and vanilla until blended. The more you beat it, the softer it gets, so stop before it's thin. Refrigerate your whipped coconut cream until serving.