Plum Ginger Almond Cake by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

October 1, 2020

This is an easy cake to put together and get into the oven. There’s no frosting to make; the wreath of sliced plums and toasted almonds circling the top of the cake provides sweetness, crunch & contrast.

I have swapped in some almond flour, which gives the cake a bit of a pound cake like texture.

Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, crème fraiche or ice cream.

Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 35 mins
Yields: 6-8 slices

Ingredients

6 ounces (1 ½ sticks or 12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, divided and softened to room temperature

¾ cup plus 4 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

3 large eggs at room temperature

½ teaspoon almond extract

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup all-purpose flour (AP), plus 1-2 tablespoons extra for dusting the pan

¼ cup almond flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon dried, ground ginger

Pinch ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 pinch kosher salt

3 whole red or black plums (about 1-pound total weight), washed & dried

¼ teaspoon fresh lemon juice (don’t need to measure; just use a couple squirts of fresh lemon!)

1/3 cup sliced almonds, very lightly pre-toasted and cooled

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare an 8 or 9-inch cake or spring-form pan

Liberally butter the bottom and sides of the pan with 1-1 ½ tablespoons softened butter. Sprinkle and coat the bottom and sides of the pan with all-purpose flour. Tap out excess flour. Set aside.

Prepare the batter

Put 1 stick (4 ounces) softened butter into the bowl of a mixer. Start whipping the butter and gradually add ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Stop and scrape the down the sides of the bowl. Whip for 3-4 minutes or until mixture looks light & fluffy. Add the eggs one-at-a time, stopping the mixer and scraping the sides and bottom after each egg has been added. Add the almond and vanilla extracts. Mix well and set aside.

Measure the dry ingredients

In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients: ¾ cup AP flour, ¼ cup almond flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon dried, ground ginger and a pinch of nutmeg. Whisk the dry ingredients to blend and combine.

With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients to the batter. Mix just enough to combine the ingredients. Don’t over-mix or use high speed. Be gentle or the cake will be tough!

Add the batter to the prepared baking pan. Use the bottom of a spoon to level the batter. Tap the filled pan gently on the counter to release any trapped air bubbles. Set aside momentarily.

Prepare the plums

Melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter over very low heat. Remove pan from the heat and add the ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Whisk/stir to distribute the cinnamon. Set aside briefly.

Slice the plums in half and remove the pits. Slice the pitted plum-halves into ¼ -inch slices; uniform in size. Add to a clean bowl. Continue slicing all the plums. Add 2 ‘squirts’ of fresh lemon juice to the plums along with the remaining 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Toss to combine.

Arrange the plum slices in overlapping concentric circles on top of the batter-filled pan. Brush the tops of the plums, gently with the melted cinnamon-butter. You may not need all the butter.

Sprinkle the lightly toasted almonds along the inside rim of the pan.

Bake at 350-degrees in a pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean with no wet cake/batter attached to it.

Cool on a rack for about 10 minutes or until it can be handled without burning your hands.

Grab 2 clean serving plates. Place one plate on top of the cake and invert the pan onto the plate. Cake should slide out of the pan and onto the plate. It will be upside down on the plate. Place the 2nd plate of top of the cake and again, invert the plate. Cake will now be ‘right-side-up’ on the second plate.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

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