Austrian Plum Cake

This cake is the perfect answer to what to do with all those plums at the farmers market, or in my case all the plums my mom brings when she visits, or the neighbor leaves in a little basket with a “take me!” sign on it. In California we have a plethora of beautiful fruit year round, and at times it feels overwhelming (in a good way).

Plums are one of those fruits that if you turn your back it has gone from a rock one second to mush the next. This cake doesn’t care which state the plums are in. All plums are accepted and melted into pools of yumminess. It is definitely easier to make this cake with slightly under or just-ripe plums as they are easier to slice and hold their shapes nicely. But whatever you have will be perfect. Oh, you only have nectarines? Or peaches? Ok! Go for it. It will still be delicious.

Serve with a cup of coffee for dessert or breakfast. We had it for both and it was lovely.

Adapted from Blue Cayenne

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup white sugar plus 2 Tbsp. (depending on ripeness of plums)
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) salted butter (cut into 8 pieces, room temperature)
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 - 1 ¼ pounds ripe but firm medium plums (halved and pitted and cut into 3/4 inch wedges )
Powdered sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.

2. Prepare a springform pan for your cake by lightly spraying it with an oil spray or butter and then dusting the pan with flour (tapping off the excess).

3. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix briefly with the paddle attachment. Keep your mixer running and add the butter one piece at a time. Continue to mix the ingredients until a crumbly or sandy texture forms, 3-4 minutes.

4. Add the egg, additional egg yolk, and vanilla to the bowl. Beat mixture at medium-high speed until it is pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure you thoroughly mixed all ingredients.

5. Spread the batter across the bottom of your prepared springform pan using a spatula. The mixture will look like a thin layer, this is in fact not a tall cake, but will rise slightly with baking. Arrange the sliced plums in concentric circles across the top of the batter. The cut sides of the plums should face up. If your plums are tart, sprinkle the additional 2 Tbsp. sugar on top of the cake.

6. Bake the cake in the 325°F oven for 50 minutes – 1 hour, or until the cake is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

7. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes, after which you can remove the sides of the springform pan.

8.Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm, preferably with a nice cup of coffee.