This is an elegant, truly delicious, and unbelievably simple recipe for a “pantry cake” (a fruit-based, crispy/tender slab cake that doesn’t require any obscure ingredients) that Michelle devised for our friends at Elena and the Remember Skin Contact? cookbook they created this spring as a fundraiser for the Montreal Restaurant Workers Relief Fund after the shutdown went into effect. (Great people! Great cause!)
Imagine a luscious, plum-laden European coffee cake, and you kind of get the gist of this cake and the vision behind it.
fig. a: no imagination necessary—here it is!
Imagine a cake that’s incredibly easy to make and knocks it out of the park every time.
Michelle had berries in mind when she first invented the recipe, because it was April, berries were due to begin arriving on the scene by June and early July, and the thought of making this cake with blueberries or blackberries seemed like a natural. But she wanted a recipe that would accommodate other fruit options as well, and one of the variations that she was most interested in trying was with plums. Why plums? Well, we love plums, we love plum desserts and plum dishes, and we often find ourselves dreaming of plums—sugar plums, and otherwise. I mean, we did name our preserves line Švestka, after all.
fig. b: early branding
What we didn’t know at the time was that while 2020 has been an absolutely lousy year for virtually everything, it turned into a pretty good plum year. We have an old plum tree that had never really produced in the time we’d known it, but that exploded with fruit this summer.
fig. c: bumper crop
And plums at the farm stands, farmers’ markets, and co-ops have been tasty and plentiful. In fact, this latest batch of the plum cake was inspired by these lovely, Italian-style Valor plums that we came across on the weekend. So tiny! So sweet! Plus, they look a lot like the Švestka plum!
fig. d: Valor is my name
So, if Italian plums are in season or available where you live, they’d be perfect for this recipe.
But the genius of this recipe is that it will definitely work like a charm with berries of all kinds, and it could just as easily become a cherry or pear cake (and around here, it has). And if you don’t have any kirsch on hand, you could also use other liquors, like rum or bourbon, depending on the fruit. In other words, it’s an incredibly versatile recipe. Stick to the original “luscious, ____-laden European coffee cake” vision behind the recipe, and you should be in good stead.
We highly, highly recommend the original plum version, though. We’re a little partial, of course, but we both think it’s kind of perfect, and I’m quite sure it’s my favourite variation.
fig. e: Plum Cake, by the slice
Michelle’s Simply Beautiful Plum Cake
batter:
1/2 cup A.P. flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 generous pinch salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp (or more!) kirsch
1/2 cup butter, melted
toppings:
a pint of fresh plums, pitted and halved (both tart and sweet varieties can be used—just adjust accordingly [see below])
a handful of sliced almonds
1 tablespoon sugar (a little more if your plums are extra tart)
Preheat oven to 350º F.
Butter 8” x 8” square cake pan. Lay a piece of parchment paper inside that’s large enough to cover the bottom and the sides of the pan. Butter the parchment paper, too.
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
Whisk eggs with sugar until mixture lightens in colour and becomes creamy. Whisk in sour cream until fully blended. Whisk in kirsch until fully incorporated. Whisk in melted butter until mixture is homogeneous. This whole process should take no more than about 3 minutes.
Add dry ingredients, and whisk once more until just smooth.
Pour batter into parchment-lined cake pan.
Place plums, cut-side down, over the surface of the batter. Sprinkle sliced almonds over top. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over top almonds and plums.
Place in the oven on the middle rack.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool.
Cut into squares, serve, and enjoy. This cake is perfect on its own with a cup of coffee or tea, or an after-dinner drink. But it’s also excellent with vanilla ice cream, or freshly whipped cream.
It’s simple. It’s beautiful. It’s also delicious. What are you waiting for?
aj