Thursday, September 20, 2007

Plum Cake

Plum Cake
It's starting to rain here and that means it's not going to stop for the next 6 to 8 months. As we approach fall, I'm saying my goodbyes to my beloved stone fruits. I love plums so I'm always eating them as soon as they ripen. It never occurred to me that I could bake with them until I saw Dorie's Dimply Plum Cake. Like many most all of Dorie's recipes, this is another delicious creation. You can eat the cake for breakfast with coffee, in the afternoon with tea, or as a midnight snack with a cold glass of milk. It can be topped with confectioner's sugar or in this case, whipped cream gently sweetened with a touch of honey.

Dorie's Dimply Plum Cake
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan

1 1/2 C AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp butter
1/2 C packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
5 Tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter with the brown sugar then beat in the eggs one at a time until everything is throughly mixed. Beat in the oil, vanilla, and almond extract.

Meanwhile in another mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Pour the batter into an 8 x 8 baking dish. Cut the plums in half and remove the pits. Press the plums into the batter cut side up.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Top with confectioner's sugar or whipped cream. Sweeten the cream with a little honey as you whip it.

Looking for more plum recipes:
Helen's Shortbread Plum Cake
Anita's Elephant Heart Plum Cornmeal Cake
Lara's Baked Plum Pudding
Lara's Plum Bars

13 comments:

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Each time I see someone blog about this cake, I promise to make it -- but I haven't, yet. I guess I keep hoping for leftovers from one of you!!! It looks delicious.

Deborah said...

I'm the same as Lydia - I don't know why I haven't made this yet!!

Mandy said...

I love plum too. And somehow I find that they turned sour after baking. Not sure if I used the wrong type of plums. I am sad to hear that Seattle has started to rain and will remain so for the next half a year, because we are coming next week.:(
Hope the rain will stop by then.;p

Anh said...

Plum, my fav fruit! They are just perfect for baking!

Unknown said...

oooo yummy! i wish i could've stayed longer and eaten more yummy food :(! oh well, i can look at the pictures and salivate instead! hehe. mmm, i should make some as a midnight snack...tehehe.

Peabody said...

Just lovely! Never can go wrong with a Dorie.Though I am happy the rain is coming. 58 and drizzly today...loved it!

Helene said...

I made the Dimply plum cake when Sophie was visiting and I had to make two more times we loved it so much. I agree, never a bad time of the day to have it and share it with friends.

Hilda said...

I made Pille's plum cake the other day and all the plums sank to the bottom. How do you all manage to get the plums to stay put where you put them? ;-)

Anonymous said...

Your cake looks beautiful and a delicious way to use up the plums before they turn into a soggy pile of mush.

Amy said...

Lydia,
I'll save some just for you. :)

Deborah,
You have to try it! It's delish.

Mandy,
I think the sourness might be coming from the skins. Wait until the plums are almost ripe enough to eat, then they should be sweet enough to bake with. If they're still sour, you can try peeling them. I hope the weather clears up for your visit! Enjoy your stay in Seattle!

Anh,
They're one of my favorite fruits too! So tasty!

Bettina,
There's always next summer. :P

Peabody,
Agreed, all of the Dorie recipes I've tried are great! I'm glad you're enjoying the weather! Plenty more rain to come. :D The cooler weather means downy comforters, soups, braises, and hot chocolate! Mmm... can't complain about that.

Helen,
I saw your post and it looked delicious. :) I'll need to get more plums so I can make this again.

Hilda,
The batter was pretty thick actually, I had to push the plums into the batter. I haven't seen Pille's recipe but maybe less liquid or cream the butter instead of melting it?

Lynn,
Thank you! It's such a shame when plums overripen.

Wandering Chopsticks said...

I'm not a plum fan but this really makes me want to try!

Brilynn said...

I just made this a couple weeks ago with plums from my Grandma's tree!

Sihan said...

i made this for the recent tWD challenge and i loved it to death. guilty of polishing off the whole cake by myself. Thank God it was just a halved version. *phew*.. it was sooo good anyway!

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