Plum Cake

Bad rodent has resurfaced once again and all of my snap peas are gone, every single one. I saw the tip of his head and I believe he is some type of mole. Now after all the awful things I have said about him I can only imagine he is kind of cute and just trying to make a living. What is the best thing to do about this situation, I’m not sure. One thought is to dig 1 to 2 feet around the perimeter of the garden and place chicken wire to make a barrier if you will. Or maybe I could plant him his own garden. My husband has other ideas. ….so for now I am thinking the perimeter will do.

Now on to this plum cake. Plums are the late bloomers of summer, now the stars of the show. Dessert never tasted so good. I bought plums today at the farmers market. They were not quite ripe but I went ahead and made this gem anyway as I could not wait any longer. The plums baked down and became sweet and syrupy and once again you are reminded why fresh seasonal fruit is always best. The batter was very thick and I had some serious doubts about how it would turn out. But in the end the batter puffed up and nestled the plums ever so wonderfully. This is the kind of recipe that you want to keep in your back pocket. Other fruits could be substituted, it's easy to make, and mouth watering delicious.

This recipe has been adapted from Marian Burros who's recipe was published by the New York Times. There is a little story about how popular this recipe has become, you might want to check it out.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick softened)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
12 Italian or purple plums halved and pitted
Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon for topping

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 350° Use a cake or spring form pan (I used a 9 inch cake pan). Prepare for baking by buttering pan, line with a prepared round of parchment paper, smoothing out to remove any creases or air bubbles. Brush another layer of butter over the parchment paper. Then flour and shake any excess out.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the sugar and butter together. Add flour, baking powder, salt and eggs, mix well. Scoop batter into prepared baking dish.

Place plum halves in batter skin-side up. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon (the amount depending upon the sweetness of the fruit and how much you like cinnamon). Lightly squeeze fresh lemon juice all around. Bake for approximately 1 hour. (mine was done in 50 minutes) Enjoy!