Brown Sugar Plum Cake

September 12, 2014

Brown Sugar Plum Cake

"Smiling is mouth yoga." - Thich Nhat Hanh

For those of you who don’t know, for a while now I have been dealing with scoliosis. My X-Rays are totally gnarly, and show a 15 point curvature in my lumbar spine, and an 18 point curvature in my thoracic spine. While I’ve been working with some wonderful chiropractors during all of this, another thing that has kept me positive and limber and just all around happy, is doing yoga with yoga-master extraordinaire: Kristen Garaffo.

Kristen has a really calming presence and is always working to spread feelings of love and non-judgment (towards yourself and others) and meeting with her for an hour a week really allows me to connect with my body and mind as I strengthen the muscles around my spine. Also, she lets her adorable dog, Charlie hang out in the room with us, which makes the sessions all the more awesome (he even gives HUGS!)

Anyway, I wanted to give Kristen a little extra “thank you,” for sharing all her expertise with me. Obviously, the first thought that came to my mind was to bake her something. And since there are some really beautiful types of plums that come into season with the fall months, I decided the best way to thank Kristen was through a rustic, aromatic, fabulously autumnal Plum Cake.

This recipe was adapted from a recipe by Dorie Greenspan, a master chef and baker (seriously, her books take up over half of a shelf in my living room) And while the smells that fill your kitchen while the cake bakes is reason alone to whip up a pan, the sweet, tender cake, dotted with juicy, dark peaches is an absolute must to ring in autumn.

The cake is very simple to make, and honestly, the recipe leaves itself open to all sorts of creativity. You could literally use any type of stone fruit that’s in season and swap out different spices and zests to suit your fancy. While I stuck with orange zest and cardamom, you could easily switch it up with lemon zest and allspice.

Make sure you remember this recipe, folks, I can guarantee you that’s going to become one of your baking staples.

Also! If you’re interested in trying out some of Kristen’s powerful wisdom for yourself, feel free to check her out on Facebook here:https://www.facebook.com/KristenYogini

Brown Sugar Plum Cake

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp cardamom (or spice of choice)

5 tbsp unsalted butter

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Zest of 1 orange (or 1-2 limes or lemons)

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

5 plums (you might be left with half of one, enjoy it as a “yay I baked!” snack)

In the back, you can see part of a ceramic chicken and my oven mitts with the peppers on them...

Directions:

Cut your plums in half and scoop out the pits and any other little hard bits that might be in there.
Prepare an 8-inch square baking pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper and buttering the edges of the pan and the parchment paper.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a small bowl, use a whisk to gently mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and spice together.
In a large bowl, use a hand mixer on medium to beat the butter on its own until it is light and fluffy (this should take about 2-3 minutes)
Add the brown sugar all at once and continue to beat the ingredients together until they are thoroughly combined and a pretty beige color.
Add the eggs separately, one after the other, beating the ingredients for a minute after each addition.
Add the orange zest and vanilla and beat those ingredients until they are all thoroughly combined. (The batter might look a bit watery now, but don’t worry, it’ll firm up once the flour mixture is added)
Now add the flour mixture all at once to the butter, sugar, egg bowl and, rather than use the hand mixer, use as spatula or spoon to scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix the flour mixture with the wet ingredients until they are just incorporated. (You don’t want to over-mix, because it will change the end result of your cake)
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with the spatula.
Place the plums, cut side up, in rows (or whatever formation you’d like) into the batter.

Here is Delaney, trying to be sneaky...not working...
Bake for 35-40 minutes. The batter will have baked up around the plums a bit, like it’s giving the plums a hug.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool (preferably on a cooling rack) for about 15 minutes.
Invert the cake onto a plate, before immediately flipping it onto the serving platter right side up to serve. (This cake is really delicate, so when I say “flip,” I mean gently)

Yummy from every angle!