Plum Cake

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 1 lb ripe and juicy black plum (about 3 large or an equal amount of ripe plums of your choice)
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (at cool room temperature)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract or 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2/3 cup roasted almonds, that have been finely ground in a food processor
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 2 teaspoons water

Recipe

• 1 heat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust rack to the center position.
• 2 lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring form pan, line the bottom with parchment and lightly butter the parchment.
• 3 cur each plum in half; remove the stone and cut each plum-half into 4 equal sized wedges.
• 4 if using small italian plums you should cut each plum-half into only 2 pieces.
• 5 set adise.
• 6 cream together the butter and the 2 sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• 7 add the eggs one-at-a-time and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds each, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• 8 add the almond (or vanilla) extract and beat to combine, about 10 seconds.
• 9 add the dry ingredients and beat on low until moistened.
• 10 increase the speed to medium and beat for an additional minute.
• 11 finish mixing batter by hand with a spatula.
• 12 transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top with spatula.
• 13 arrange plum wedges on top in concentric circles.
• 14 place in oven and bake until dark golden brown and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through baking.
• 15 cool on rack until slightly warm, about 45 minutes.
• 16 remove sides from pan and finish with a dusting of confectiners sugar or (for a more elegant look) the apricot glaze as described below.
• 17 serve immediately with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.
• 18 for glaze:.
• 19 gently simmer the preserves with the water for 2 minutes.
• 20 strain the mixture and brush over cake.