They say ‘if you want to cook like a Masterchef cooks, then you need to shop where a Masterchef shops’. My personal opinion is that the answer is not Coles, but your local farmers market or independent green grocer. They have a pride in their produce and a personal rapport that could not be beat! This plum frangipane is a nod to my old relationships and a thanks to my new ones. 

I was so sad when we were leaving behind the Capital Region Farmers Market and Ziggys Fresh at the Belconnen Fresh Food Markets. It had become such a big part of my life {as finding the best the season has to offer and of course eating it, should be}. I loved the familiar faces I would meet at the markets and the outstanding produce that I would come home with.

Just as plums mark the end of the summer holidays and the end of the stone fruit season, I thought that the move to Sydney may mark the end of such a wonderful foodie chapter in my life.

But I was wrong! I have found my fellow foodies at the Ramsgate Foodies and Farmers Market and FruitEzy at Miranda. Excellent providores who know their stuff when it comes to outstanding seasonal produce. Health experts and chefs often say you should eat “seasonally” – making food choices that are grown at the same time of the year you eat them.

I would highly recommend eating seasonally, stocking up on the best that each providore has to offer. Not only does the produce taste its best, but it’s also cheaper  – which is handy when you are feeding lots of little mouths who LOVE their fruit and veggies.

In fact, I don’t think we would be able to get through the week without the extra apples that the lovely stall owner from Produce from Orange pops into our weekly haul or a delicious fresh fruit and veggie juice after we finish our shop at FruitEzy {by the way, thanks FruitEzy for always pouring it into two cups so that there are no fights over the juice}.

So just as the stone fruit season must end, we can not be sad because now Autumn offers up a bounty of delicious apples, pears, figs and persimmons. I mean, if there is any reason to eat seasonally, is it not a perfect, crisp, Autumn apple?

This plum frangipane has a delicious earthiness from the quinoa and almonds, against the plums and the maple syrup. And the hum of cardamom takes this afternoon treat to another level.

Plum Frangipane

300 grams of unsalted butter
1 cup of quinoa flakes
1 cup of almond meal
1 tsp of ground cardamom
1 tsp of salt
200mls of maple syrup
1 vanilla pod
3 eggs
4 plums

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a medium rectangle cake tin.

Beat together the butter, quinoa, almond meal, cardamom, salt, maple syrup and vanilla seeds until well combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until nicely incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and top with the halved plums, gently pushing them into the frangipane. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden and cooked through.