Crunchy-Topped Whole-Wheat Plum Cake
- Total Time
- 50 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Ingredients
- ½cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more to grease pan
- 1½pounds plums, preferably several varieties, pitted and sliced
- 1¼cups plus 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
- ½tablespoon baking powder
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- ½cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2tablespoons Cognac or brandy
- 1teaspoon vanilla
- 1large egg
- ½cup milk
- 2tablespoons Demerara sugar, for sprinkling
- Whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
316 calories; 14 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 27 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 204 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
- Step 2
Place the plum slices in a bowl and gently toss with 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining whole-wheat flour with the baking powder and kosher salt.
- Step 3
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together ½ cup butter, sugar, Cognac or brandy and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until thoroughly combined.
- Step 4
Add half the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Pour in the milk and continue beating, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined.
- Step 5
Scrape the dough into the pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Scatter on the plums in an even layer. Sprinkle the Demerara sugar on top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving, with whipped cream if you like.
Private Notes
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Comments
Something not right. In the link to the original article, Melissa refers to increasing the egg from Marion Burros' recipe, which calls for 2 eggs. Yet this recipe calls for only one egg. Typo or wrong link?
I've been making this cake since the early 80's. With two eggs and no milk, one cup of sugar, two cups of white flour. It is always so perfect that I never changed the ingredients. The key with this cake is to bake a tiny bit over so that the center is not goopy. Everything becomes slightly caramelized.
The recipe she's referring to in the article is not the Marion Burros recipe but the recipe for a rustic sour cherry cake she found and liked, whose texture she was trying to lighten a bit. She found the cake worked best with plums instead of cherries.
A delicious recipe and one I will make again and again. Using different types of plums really delivered the flavor. For flour, I used a mix of whole wheat, almond flour, and semolina. I subbed orange juice for the alcohol and it worked nicely. I am so looking forward to having leftovers for breakfast!
I’m mystified at those disparaging this cake. Yes, use the 9x13. Yes, use the booze, the tart plums, the whole wheat flour, all the sugar called for. I even accidentally used two entire pounds of (plain ol’ Aldi) plums and it was all the better for it. (I’ll confess I swapped vanilla for almond and added a dusting of ground ginger.) Eight servings? Surely not, I thought. But cut yourself one-eighth - it’s not very thick - and see if you don’t want more. There are only two of us, and if this cake makes it three more days, I’ll be shocked. It’s utterly delicious.
See original recipe