plum cake

[42itous]

I've had a handful of requests for this recipe recently, so I'm posting it here where I can link to it.

PLUM CAKE

[I usually double the recipe and use a 9x13 pan. Also, I've gotten good results using other kinds of fruit: peaches, blueberries, apples.]

1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons melted butter
15-18 Italian blue plums (also called "prune plums")
cinnamon-sugar mixture

Cut the plums in half and lay them face-down on paper towels to soak up some of their juice. Butter and flour a 9x9 baking dish. Preheat oven to 375.
In a medium bowl, beat the egg and add the sugar.
Mix the baking powder into the flour.
Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk to the bowl.
Add vanilla and butter.
Pour the batter into the pan.

Set the plum halves into the batter on edge, so they stand up in tightly packed rows. The batter will rise up around them as it bakes.
Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar on top.
Bake for a while (here the original recipe says 30-40 minutes, but I've needed 50-60 minutes, so who knows?) until it looks like it's not raw in the middle.

Comments

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

that looks lovely and delicious. plus, plums.
yum!

[nosrednayduj]

Blueberries are, um, a different size, so presumably you'd just mix them in at the end. How many cups would you use? I may try this with apples; there is an apple potluck scheduled for later this month at work. I was going to make an apple cake with chopped apples, but this would be much prettier. Do you peel the apples when you use them?

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

Zwetschgenkuchen!!!!!

(Although I make mine with a pareve cookie dough -- just flour, sugar, eggs, margarine, and a splash of vanilla -- no baking powder or milk in mine.) I was going to bake them yesterday for Rosh Ha-shanah but ran out of time, so I'm making mine tonight.

[mercurysparkle.livejournal.com]

Yum Yum!!! The visual effect is simply stunning (and it tastes divine!)

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

I have a very similar recipe from my mom. Differences: it has some grated lemon rind in it, you halve the plums and lay them cut-side-up, and then sprinkle cinnamon/sugar and a little lemon juice on top before baking. I should really make a double batch next time; it gets eaten up so fast.

[nosrednayduj]

So I tried it with apples. Two problems: Apples are shorter, so the cake spilled out almost above the apples so they appear sunken. And the apples provided so much moisture that the in-between bits took forever to get done so the top got kind of overdone. I think it'll be OK anyway, just kind of crunchy. I'm bringing it to a potluck tomorrow. Yours is prettier with plums.



I guessed COMPLETELY WRONG about how much apples it would take and cut about twice what I needed. So, um, I mixed it with a splodge of cinnamon sugar and flour and threw it in the oven with the cake. Poof, apple pie without the crust!