Plum Cake

One of the characters in a book I loved to read as a child was named Plum Tucker. The name sounded so full in the mouth; full of sugar, plums, and spices. So I found this plum cake recipe on cooks.com and it has exactly the same feel in the mouth.

Laying out the plum slices on top of the batter

Cutting in the flour to make the topping

Hot from the oven in the Teeny Tiny Kitchen

Ready for slicing

Plum Cake

Plum Cake
I made some changes to the original recipe. The pan size was 8x11 but as that was not an available option in the Teeny Tiny Kitchen, I used a 9 inch square glass dish instead. I reduced the plums from 2 pounds to 1 pound and found that I had about 2/3 of a plum left over. Each prune plum was approximately 2-3 inches long. 
 
Have at room temperature:
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pound plums (about 5), pitted, halved, quartered, and cut into eighths
Cinnamon, for dusting

Topping (The original recipe said this was optional, I say it's required!)
1/4 cup unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup flour (increased from 1/4 cup in the original recipe)

Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Grease and flour one 9-inch square glass baking dish.

In a large bowl, cream the 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat after each addition until just combined. Add vanilla. Scape down the sides. Add the flour mixture in three batches, beating after each addition until just combined. Scrape down the sides.

Scrape batter into the prepared dish. Gently press the plum slices into the top of the batter in rows. Sprinkle the top liberally with cinnamon. In the same large bowl and using the same beaters (no need to wash), cream the 1/4 cup butter with 1/2 cup sugar. Add the cinnamon. Cut in the 1/2 cup flour by hand. I pinched off bits of the batter to distribute evenly on top of the plums.

Bake 55 minutes or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean. There may be some moisture on the tester because of the plums. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before cutting into squares.

The top is slightly crusty because of the butter-sugar topping. Serve with coffee or tea, or eat it with ice cream or whipped cream as a dessert.

Plum-Apple Pie

I was in Chinatown on Friday morning to pick up pastries for our trip to Philadelphia. The fish/fruit market on Canal Street was selling these prune plums. Plums are in season. I try to buy what's in season and of course, buy local. It's economical, as prices are lower for fruit in season, and  it makes sense to cook and eat what is available rather than what has to be flown in or trucked for miles.  I found this recipe on The Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite cooking blogs, and thought I'd share it. This is a single-crust pie and it's somewhat unusual in that the crust is on top rather than on the bottom.

Pie Filling:
1 pound (2 cups) prune plums, halved and quartered
1 pound apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into chunks
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
squeeze or two (or three) of orange juice

In a large bowl combine the fruit, sugar, cinnamon and orange juice. Butter a 9 inch glass pie plate and pour the fruit mixture in it. Set aside.

Halving and quartering plums. That's a $1.99 Farberware knife from Boscov's

Scoop out the apple core with a spoon

Apples and plums in the buttered pie plate

Preheat oven to 350˚F. 

Pie Lid:
Have at room temperature~
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup plus 6 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
beaten egg, milk, or cream for brushing on the crust
1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling

Cream butter with sugar and orange zest. Add egg. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture in three batches. Beat until just combined. Do not over mix. Turn out into a sheet of plastic or waxed paper. Freeze for 10-20 minutes or until firm. Roll out onto a well-floured board. Carefully fold the dough and unfold it on top of the fruit in the pie plate. Trim the edges and crimp. Don't worry if the dough tears. Patch any tears with the excess dough. Gently press down the dough on top of the fruit. Crimp the edges. Brush the top with beaten egg, milk, or cream. Sprinkle the top with sugar.

Grated orange zest. I love my microplane grater!

Pie lid dough. Don't over mix!

Roll out pie lid dough onto a well-floured board

Unfold dough on top of the fruit. Don't worry if it tears!

Patched, crimped, and brushed with beaten egg

Sprinkle of sugar

Bake the pie in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

Plum-apple pie on the cooling rack, bubbling over with juices

Juicy

Spoonful of pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

The pie lid crust crumbles and is lightly sweet, like a flaky sugar cookie. Serve with crème fraîche, sweetened whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.