Think On It

The easiest cake you’ve never yet made

March 29th, 2008

This is a recipe that came together so fast and was eaten so instantly I could almost forget I made it up. The very first version was everything I wanted or expected it to be. That’s something of a record for me in baking. My worst grade in high school was chemistry. This, however, is a success. Not too sweet, fluffy, not overly rich or fatty—in fact most of the weight is in fruit. It should serve six easily or eight with cheese or ice cream and any Italian would like it for breakfast, too.

I took it around to seven various neighbors and they all agree: this is really good. The fact that it is really easy and designed to be made by anyone with an oven, even if they have never made a cake before, is just garnish. It started with yellow plums I froze last summer when they were so good and so everywhere you hardly knew what to do. I made a bit of syrup for them, so they’d come out as nice as they went in. I usually don’t, but they do stay prettier if you do. I thawed them about half way so I could taste them and see what I had to work with. They were firm, tart and very juicy, all good characteristics to work with.

Here’s what you need:

An 8” or 20 cm round shallow pan that can go into the oven—I used a cake tin
A moderate sized bowl
A 1/3 cup measure
A liquid measuring cup
Two table knives
A fork
A teaspoon
An oven set at 425°F or 220°C

Here are the ingredients:

1 cup of plain flour (3 scoops with that 1/3 cup measure)
1/3 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
a pinch of ground nutmeg
1/3 cup butter
½ cup of the juices of the plums
1 egg
About 14 plum halves
A little sugar

Butter really well the bottom and sides of the baking dish you plan to cook this in.

Put the flour, sugar, spices, baking powder and salt into the bowl and mix them up a bit. Add the butter, cut into pieces, and using the two knives, cut the butter into the dry stuff until it’s incorporated and looks mealy. You can also do that in the food processor, but it’s not in my list above.

Break the egg into the liquid measure and add the plum juice. Use the fork to mix it up well. Dump it onto the dry stuff and use the fork to stir it just enough so that it’s wet. It may still look lumpy and that’s okay. Then scrape it all into the baking dish and arrange the plums on top so that they look nice. Sprinkle a little sugar over the plums. Put it into the oven and cook it for about 30 minutes. Stick a toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean, it’s done, if not, give it another 5 minutes.

Let this sit 10 minutes before turning it onto a cooling rack. The juice cooks into a syrup and clings at first, but after a few minutes it releases the bottom. You can make this, wash the dishes, cool it a bit and serve it all in such a short time…

This is nice warm and I would have loved some Fior di Latte gelato or some vanilla ice cream with it. I thought of sieving powdered sugar over it, but the plums were so jewel-like I couldn’t bear to do it.
If you make it with fresh plums, use milk in the place of the juices. Or try it with any fruit that’s hanging around, fresh or frozen. Maybe cherries? Peaches?

Entry Filed under: Italy, Beauty, dessert, plums, fruit, economical, Italian food, dolce, recipes, easy, cookery, baking