Well, September is just around the corner, with it the decline into cold weather, grey and rainy days, the return to the library and hitting the books. Oddly enough, September sounds an awful lot like August. And July for that matter. In fact, I think we just went from Spring straight to Almost Autumn. What happened to summer? What a second, what was my point? Ah yes, cake.
If ever there was something to make you feel like summer isn't over, or indeed that summer actually came, it's this cake. There's something terribly satisfying about plums seeped in a rich cakey batter, even one as light as this. I think the only way it could have been made better is if I'd been able to go into my back yard and pluck the plums off the tree myself, but as I've no orchard with which to compare, I must say the store-bought variety was splendid.
1/2 cup margarine, melted
8--9 fresh plums, halved
250 ml light brown sugar sugar
250 ml plain flour
10 ml baking powder
180 ml soya milk, or other non-dairy milk
zest of half a small grapefruit
scant pinch of ground cardamom
a few shakes of ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to about 375--400 degrees. Halve and pit the plums, place in a bowl and cover with a quick shake of sugar and the grapefruit zest and let sit till the rest of the batter is ready. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and cardamom. Mix the milk and melted marg, then whisk into the dry ingredients.
Scrape the batter into a greased 9x9 baking dish. Arrange plums on the top flesh-side up. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon (and a bit of vanilla sugar if you've got it -- this was a last minute addition to this version and, dude! Gorgeous). Bake 45 minutes to an hour, or until top of crust is all goldeny and the juices have crackled along the edge.
Definitely cool on a wire rack before serving. If you can, wait a least an hour as this seems to allow a last, vital hit of flavour to emerge
You might want to dust the top with a bit of powdered sugar, but I rather think it's nice as it is. Very good with a glass of chilled chardonnay. Lovely.
I may have to try this as my mum has a plum tree in her back garden with plenty of plums left to use.
Posted by: Laura | August 29, 2008 at 10:16 AM