Plum Macaroon Cake

August is such a show-off of a month. The end of August, specifically, when stone fruit is at it's peak and the first fall produce is starting to show up is one of the best times to visit the market. Peaches and nectarines tend to hog most of the stone fruit spotlight, but plums certainly have a special place in my kitchen. They come in an outstanding array of shades and shapes, from tiny round Greengages to oblong purple Empress plums, they are all a bit sweet and tart which makes them perfect for baking and preserves.

A week or so ago Pete and I made a trip upstate for a fun film project, and one of the orchards we visited had a small orchard of plum trees, all hitting their peak. Pete spotted these guys, so deep in color they looked almost black in the bright sun (I think they were Damsons, but no one could confirm for sure) and I beelined down the row, knowing they would be perfect for baking. I had already filled up all of my bags and baskets with grapes, raspberries, and early apples so I grabbed as many plums as I could carry in my hands, all while seriously embarrassing myself freaking out about how beautiful they were. Eh, what can you do? Sometimes you just gotta exclaim about pretty little plums as families having a relaxing afternoon picking fruit together side-eye you...

I had bookmarked this cake in Tara's book ages ago, and with my fresh glut of plums I finally had a good excuse to make it. With a crackly coconut macaroon-inspired top, this plum cake has become a new favorite. It is the kind of cake you'll find yourself sneaking a tiny slice of, every time you walk by. It also keeps exceptionally well for a few days on the counter (covered), if you are the kind of person with a little more self control than tiny-slice-stealers like me.  

Plum Macaroon Cake

Makes one 9-inch cake

From Seven Spoons by Tara O'Brady

This cake is sweet, nutty, and perfectly punctuated by wonderfully tart plums. I used tiny purple and red plums, so I just sliced them in half, rather than the sixths that the recipe recommends. Once baked and cooled this cake keeps exceptionally well for a few days on the counter at room temperature, if it lasts that long. 

Cake

1 1/2 cups (190g) all purpose flour

1/2 cup (60g) shredded coconut

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup (60ml) milk

about 1 pound (455g) red or purple plums pitted and cut into sixths (or small plums cut in half)

2 tablespoons demerara or granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping

1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

2 tablespoons (25g) almond meal

seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup (60 g) shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch removable bottom cake pan or springform pan with butter.

To make the cake, whisk the flour, coconut, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set this dry mix inside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for 2 more minutes. Decrease the speed to medium-low and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the almond extract and turn the speed down to low.

With the mixer still running, add half the dry ingredients to the wet, followed by all of the milk and then the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix until combined, scraping the bowl once or twice.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Use a spatula to spread the thick batter to the edges of the pan. Stand the plums in rings in the batter, up on their ends. The fruit will shift inward during baking so arrange them nice and close to the edge of the pan, and do not cluster too many at the middle. Combine the demerara sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, then sprinkle across the fruited Stonehenge. Bake for 50 minutes.

While the cake bakes, make the topping. Whisk the butter, sugar, eggs, almond meal, vanilla bean seeds, almond extract, and shredded coconut in a pitcher with a pouring spout. Working quickly, remove the cake from the oven and pour the mixture over the hot cake. Return the cake to the oven and bake until the topping is puffed, evenly golden, and set, 25 to 30 minutes more.

Cool the cake completely, in its pan on a wire rack before serving. Serve as is or dusted with confectioners' sugar. The cake can be kept under a dome or loosely wrapped in its pan at from temperature for 3 days.

Full disclosure guys: I usually find these "hands offering" type photos a little cheesy, but I actually grabbed as many plums as I could and held them like this until I could find a bag, and honestly, how amazing are these colors?!?!? 

Pretty Little Summer Fruit Cakes

I took another round of pottery classes this Spring, and finally got most of the pieces I made all of those months ago back from the studio (the plates in this post). Making pottery is a good exercise for me. It is one that requires a lot of patience, which I find myself in short supply of these days. With pottery there is a lot of waiting: waiting for things to dry to trim, waiting for things to dry to fire, waiting for the bisque fire, then glazing, then the glaze fire. Then sometimes, you get to the end of all of it, after hours and hours of work, and your shit breaks at the very last moment (like the cracked green plate below). It is unavoidable and it happens to the most experienced potters. It is a craft that requires a lot of humility.

Baking comes much easier. It feels natural and simple and I can generally bake things really, really fast - very little patience required. These little summer fruit cakes are that kind of easy treat: quickly thrown together, but quite pretty and tasty. Use any small fruit you like for these cakes, my favorites of the ones pictured were the cakes with little slices of apricots and blackberries, but use whatever you have around. It is a great way to use up little bits of things you may have kicking around in the fridge.

Pretty Little Summer Fruit Cakes

makes 8-15 cakes, depending on the size of the molds

I used about 10 small brioche molds and 2 mini loaf pans here and a combination of lots of odds and ends of fruit that were left in my fridge. Any summer fruit, cut into thin slices or berry sized chunks would be great here. I don't mind the flavor of almond extract in almond cakes, but I know it is a divisive ingredient so feel free to leave it out if you aren't a fan.

6 ounces high quality butter, softened but still cool

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups assorted summer fruit (berries, halved and pitted cherries, sliced apricots, peaches or nectarines, and currants are all great options)

Preheat oven to 325 and great and flour your pans. Put the pans on a baking sheet so they will be easy to move in and out of the oven.

Sift the dry ingredients together, press on the almond meal to help it through the sifter if necessary.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth, then slowly stream in the sugar with the mixer on medium speed. Turn the mixer up to medium-high and cream the butter and sugar together until light, fluffy, and smooth. About 3 minutes.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the extracts.

Reduce the speed to low and alternately add the milk and flour mixture. Mix until just combined, being careful not to over mix. Pour the batter into the pans and top each cake with a few pieces of fruit. Bake the cakes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20-40 minutes depending on the size of the pans.

Cool for 20 minutes, then remove the cakes to a rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioner's sugar and an additional berry or two just before serving.