Dilemmas, Dilemmas! What to do with these little beauties?!

Ever wondered what I did with these? Anybody? Well, I ate them, one by one, in all their natural wonderfulness, raw, sweet and un-messed with, just as they were. Yum. I have this thing though that I do with figs, taught to me many years ago by a fig-growing, fig-loving Croatian. Pull off the stalk and break the fig in half lengthways. Then gently smoosh the inner surfaces of the two halves together, thereby creating a kind of cool, 'natural jam' - then devour. Weird? Maybe. Good? Oh yes, oh so good. Try it with me next summer. Counting the days....

Plum & Polenta Cake - Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free

Sometimes I just have to have something sweet! You know what I mean? This cake is the result of one of those moments, as well as seeming like a great way to use up the beautiful dark red, organic, local plums I was given yesterday. It's also the kind of cake you will want to make when you have that sweetness craving but are feeling a bit on the lazy side of things. It's easy, oh so easy!! I used my Thermomix but it can all be done just as simply without - let me know if you need help.

Ingredients :
200gms Almonds
200mls Oil (Coconut or Grapeseed or Light Olive)
100Gms Polenta (Fine)
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Cinnamon
Lemon Zest
1 tsp Vanilla Paste
3 Eggs
6 Dates
Fresh Plums (Or any fruit/berries you have on hand)
Cream or Yoghrt to serve (I used Coconut Yoghurt) - Recipe coming soon :)

How:
Grind Almonds in Thermy (or blender) & set aside.
Finely chop dates. You can use more dates if you like. This quantity was near perfect I thought. Not too sweet and it allowed the flavour of the plums to really feature.
Add oil. I used half coconut, half olive..
Blend on speed 8, 2 minutes. Scrape down sides and blend again if necessary.
Add all other ingredients and continue to blend on speed 4 until smooth.
Pour into lined cake tin of choice and press roughly chopped fruit into the mixture. Bake in moderate oven for about 30 - 45 minutes. All ovens are different - so keep a close eye on it and remove when it is slightly brown on top and a sewer comes out clean. It can be dry if over-cooked.