upside-down plum cake.

Come September, the second the season's shift, apples become the most popular kid at the farmer's market. End of season tomatoes get thrown to the wayside, zucchini gets ignored, and plums and peaches are all but forgotten.  I am guilty as charged of such acts of negligence and this year I told myself I needed to be better. I needed to embrace  the late summer produce since it will be many months before it comes back.  

The easiest way to embrace summer when fall is knocking at your door is by using summer produce in fall inspired recipes.  Things like grilled pork chops with peaches, whole wheat spaghetti tossed with slow roasted tomatoes, and this upside-down plum cake.  This cake is magical. It's reminiscent of a tarte tatin but a little more unique and unexpected.  The plums bake down, mingling with the brown sugar and butter to produce a caramelized topping that pairs perfectly with the light as air cake.  This makes for one hell of a birthday cake (maybe I'm the only one who loves fruit based cakes) but I also love it as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea. There is something beautiful about the meeting of summer and fall because only in that world can desserts like this exist.  

Upside-Down Plum Cake
Recipe via David Lebovitz 

One 10-inch (25cm) cake, 8-10 servings

Plums are wonderful here but peaches or apricots would also be lovely.  The number of plums you use are dependent on the size of your plums.  I had fairly tiny Italian Prune plums and ended up using about 15.  Just remember more fruit is a good thing.  You want the bottom to be entirely covered! 

For the fruit layer

3 tablespoons butter (45g), salted or unsalted
3/4 cup packed (135g) light brown sugar
15 Italian prune plums, quartered

For the cake layer

8 tablespoons (115g) unsalted butter

3/4 cup (150g) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature.

1 1/2 cups (210g) flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (125ml) whole milk, at room temperature

Melt the 3 tablespoons (45g) of butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet.  Add the brown sugar and cook while stirring, until the sugar is melted and begins to bubble. Remove from heat and let cool.  Once cool, arrange the fruit in a pinwheel design. Set aside.

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350F. (190C)

Beat the 8 tablespoons of butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir in half of the flour mixture, then the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients. Do not overmix: stir just until the flour is barely incorporated into the batter.

Spread the batter over the fruit, then bake for 45 minutes to one hour (depending on the size of the pan, and the thickness of the batter.) The cake is ready when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and the center feels just set.

Remove from oven, let cool about 20 minutes, then place a cake plate on top, and wearing oven mitts, flip the cake out on to the plate, taking care, as there may be some hot caramel that might escape.

Serving: Upside Down Cake is best served warm, perhaps with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It can be made in advance, left in the pan, and rewarmed in the cake pan or skillet right before serving. It’s also very good rewarmed in a microwave, and served immediately.

cinnamon-sugar plum cake.

This cake will probably not be winning any beauty contests any time soon.  There are far too many gorgeous plum cake and tart specimens out there, cakes with perfectly layered rings of sliced purple or yellow plums. But, what this cake lacks for in the looks department it more than makes up for in the taste department.  This is a homey cake, the kind of thing you serve after a meal of farmer's market produce.  The cake is as simple as can be with a light and subtly spiced taste which allows for the plums to steal the show.  As the cake bakes, the plums practically melt to create a jammy layer of fruit.  The cinnamon sugar topping provides a little crunch which is the perfect textural contrast.  Served with a dollop of whipped cream of homemade vanilla ice cream and you have the perfect rustic summer dessert.  

Cinnamon-Sugar Plum Cake

Recipe adapted (barely) from Bon Appetit

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

¾ cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided

½ teaspoon ground ginger, divided

5 large plums (about 1 1/4 pounds), pitted, cut into 1/2-inch wedges

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Whisk first 3 ingredients along with ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon ginger in small bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in 3/4 cup sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time, then lemon juice and lemon peel, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in flour mixture. Spread batter in prepared pan.

Press plum wedges halfway into batter in concentric circles, spacing slightly apart. Mix remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in small bowl; sprinkle over plums. Bake until cake is browned on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cut around cake; release pan sides. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

plum clafoutis.

I have an ongoing fantasy of quitting my job and moving to upstate New York.  The boy and I would live in and old farm house – one with a wrap around porch and apple trees in the back yard.  We would have 2 dogs and a vegetable garden.  I would have a cellar that would be filled with ball jars of pickled vegetables, several types of homemade jam, and sausage that I was drying.  My wardrobe would consist of faded blue jeans and equally faded chambray shirts.  Sadly, this remains a fantasy as I’ve yet to strike it rich or figure out how I could afford such a vision.  I can’t imagine myself running a profitable farm considering I’ve never farmed before (some ideas are best left to the imagination). 

When I have a strong desire to pretend I’m cooking in my rustic farm house kitchen, I always make a rustic fruit dessert.  Rustic fruit desserts are utterly simple and homey.  They take a very short time to prepare and while they are baking they fill your kitchen with the scent of sugar and spice and fruit.  My favorite summer rustic dessert is a clafoutis.  A clafoutis is a French desert that is traditionally made with cherries but can be made with just about any fruit.  I used plums as they are dominating the farmers markets at the moment but peaches or apricots work equally well.  The fruit sits nestled in a subtly sweet custard and as the dish cooks the fruit softens and releases their juices which caramelizes the top of the dish.  It’s delicious eaten warm from the oven with a dollop of whipped cream.

Plum Clafoutis

Recipe from Flour by Joanne Chang

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

6 medium plus, pitted and cut into eights, about 5 cups

½ cup granulated sugar

4 eggs

½ cup unbleached all-pupose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

Confectioners sugar for dusting

Position rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 400 desgrees.

Melt the butter in a 9x13 baking dish (I used a 9 inch pie pan which worked perfectly) while the oven is preheating.  Once melted, swirl the dish to coat the bottom and sides with the butter. 

In a medium bowl, toss the plums with ¼ cup of the sugar and then pour into the baking dish, spreading evenly. 

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until blended.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ¼ cup sugar, the flour, and salt.  Whisk the sugar-flour mixture into the eggs.  Then whisk the milk and vanilla and almond extracts into the egg mixture.  Pour the batter over the plums.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the clafoutis is golden brown and puffy.  Let cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.  Dust generously with confectioners sugar and serve warm.