Plum & Raspberry Cornmeal Cake


It's funny, when I make something delicious, I tease people by posting it on instagram right away, even if I haven't perfected the recipe yet! (sorry about that!).

I know many of you bakers have been waiting for this recipe.

So, here it is. :)

It is a take on Marion Burro's original plum torte, published every year in the NY Times, but I took liberties and added in cornmeal and raspberries to make it even better (if that is possible!).

The cornmeal addition is fantastic, it gives the cake a bit more texture, and the raspberries look and taste good with the plums.


I used prune plums here (the small August plums also known as "Stanley" plums, or Italian plums), but you can use any plum you like.

It's all delicious. Any summer fruit works in this recipe.


Plum & Raspberry Cornmeal Cake:

1 cup sugar
8 tbsp butter
2/3 cup unbleached flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
as many pitted purple plums as you like
handful of raspberries
turbinado sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon for topping

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and eggs and beat well.


Spoon the batter into an 8" springform pan.

Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Dot with raspberries.


Sprinkle lightly with raw sugar and lemon juice. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Bake 45-50 minutes (original recipe says 1 hour, but mine was done).

Let rest in pan a few minutes, then run knife around the edges. Remove springform mold.


This is fantastic warm with vanilla ice-cream, or room temp the next a.m. for breakfast.


Enjoy!

Comments

Bebe said…
Italian plums, of the short season and the uninteresting appearance, turn into the most luscious things when subjected to heat. Laurie Colwin was fond of them and her recipes are still terrific if you can find them. Burro’s cake is a classic. I’ve made it for years unless I couldn’t find those Italian plums. Costco used to offer them in 4 pound clamshells (halved and pitted, they freeze beautifully), but I haven’t seen them for a while. We get them in September or even October.

This variation sounds delish.
Carolyn said…
This looks delicious! I like the idea of serving it for breakfast. My family won't eat desserts😕Because they see them as unhealthy but they will eat breakfast pastries. Go figure!
Oui, Chef said…
This is my kind of treat, rustic and at the same time, refined.