Plum Crumb Coffee Cake

We still have plums from our 4th of July Plum Picking extravaganza! I’ve been eating them raw and baking them in yummy sweet treats. The most recent creation was a delicious crumb coffee cake.

I had a blueberry coffee cake recipe on hand, but decided to mix plums into the batter instead. I tossed the plums in a bit of flour before putting them in the batter, hoping to prevent all the fruit from sinking. I’m glad to report that the fruit dispersed evenly throughout the cake.

I also wanted big crumbs on top of my cake, isn’t that the best part of coffee cake anyways? I found a topping recipe that didn’t disappoint!

It smelled amazing when it came out of the oven!

Cake Recipe:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups fresh sliced plums

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease and line an 8×8″ pan with parchment paper.

Cream sugar and butter together until fluffy with a handheld mixer. Then beat in the egg and vanilla. In another bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to sugar and butter mixture in 3 stages, alternating with the milk. Dust plums with flour then mix into the batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Now make the topping!

Topping Recipe: Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker post http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2008/06/09/new-york-style-crumb-cake/

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and warm
1 3/4 cups cake flour

Combine sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a  bowl. Add flour and mix with a rubber spatula until mixture comes together in a thick pasty dough. Cool about 15 minutes.

Crumble into pea-sized pieces and spread evenly over the cake batter.

Bake at 350 F degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes until done, test with toothpick. Let cool and enjoy!

 

Upside Down Plum Cake

I went plum picking in my Aunt’s backyard over the 4th and couldn’t wait to get baking with the ripe fruit! My first thought was to make a plum crisp. However, since I’ve recently made a few crisps with rhubarb, strawberries, and cherries I decided to try something different. I settled on a plum cake. The cake is similar to a pineapple upside down cake, with plums replacing the pineapple.

The first step was to make the plum layer at the bottom. This required halving the plums to discard the seeds, quite a messy, juicy job! I arranged the sliced plums on the bottom of a pan. I cooked sugar and water over the stove and poured it over the plums. It hardened instantly, just like when you make flan (it turns back to syrup once you bake it). It looked like glass artwork.

Next I made cake batter to spread over the hardened plum layer. Then into the oven it went! When I took the cake out of the oven you could see the plums simmering in the sugar liquid on the bottom.

Once the cake cooled a bit I turned it out onto a plate … I tried it when it was still warm. Yum!

Slice of cake

Recipe: (Adapted from Ina Garten “Plum Cake Tatin” on the Food Network website)

• plums, halved and pitted (enough to cover the bottom of a 9″ pie pan)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water

Butter a 9-inch glass pie dish and cover the bottom with plums, cut side down. Combine  sugar and water in a small saucepan and cook over medium high heat until it turns a golden color, periodically swirl the pan. Be watchful, the sugar will go from golden to burnt quickly. Pour evenly over the plums, it should harden. 

• 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup sour cream (I used light)
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cream butter and sugar with handheld or stand mixer  until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla then mix. In another bowl sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently add to the butter mixture in three stages. Mix until combined.

Pour the cake batter over the plum layer. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, then flip the cake onto a plate. Serve warm or at room temperature, dust with powdered sugar if desired.