Plums are plentiful in Puglia at this time of year, and there is a wonderful variety of them as well. For the grand finale of my Rosh Hashanah dinner I decided to go with a dessert that wasn’t as traditional as the apple cake I made a few years back. Apples are coming into season here, but they are all shipped in from the North and it isn’t easy to find them grown locally at the markets. The plums are gorgeous though and I loved this recipe for a plum cake from the New York Times.

I wasn’t 100% sure about using whole wheat flour for a dessert, nor was I sure I would be able to find it, I went to several stores looking for it. You couldn’t really taste the difference and of course all of the butter and all of the sugar made it deliciously sweet. The plums were also very sweet, I used three different varieties, an egg shaped plum that were grown in my veggie vendor’s mother’s garden, beautiful golden plums and your average purple plums that you can find just about anywhere.

I simply love fruity desserts.

Crunchy-Topped Whole-Wheat Plum Cake

from the New York Times

Time: 50 minutes

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more to grease pan
• 1 1/2 pounds plums, preferably several varieties, pitted and sliced
• 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons Demerara sugar, for sprinkling
• Whipped cream, for serving (optional).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

Place the plum slices in a bowl and gently toss with 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining whole-wheat flour with the baking powder and kosher salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together 1/2 cup butter, sugar, Cognac or brandy and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until thoroughly combined.

Add half the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Pour in the milk and continue beating, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Scrape the dough into the pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Scatter on the plums in an even layer. Sprinkle the Demerara sugar on top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving, with whipped cream if you like.

Yield: 8 servings.

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~ by italicious on September 21, 2012.

Posted in dolci, plums
Tags: cake, desserts, Jewish recipes, plums, Rosh Hashanah