Brown Sugar Plum Cakes … sweet summer dreams!

“Do you realize that we have had no dessert to eat for many days?”…a voice rang out from behind me as I walked to the kitchen. I pretended nonchalantly not to hear; didn’t even bat an eyelid! It was the boy speaking up. LOL….”Yes”, I said to myself silently, “I do, and was waiting for this to come, only it took a little longer than I expected.”

I’ve treated them to a deluge of desserts this summer, celebrating the presence of stone fruits day in and day out. Then suddenly, one day, the dessert mojo in me just got up & went. It was hot & I’ve been in no mood to dish out ‘sweet anythings’. These are times where I just want to sit in a heap doing nothing at all … just want to sit & read, listen to music, take pictures, twitter or blog hop.

Kids are creatures of habit, at least mine are. I got into a stone fruit frenzy the whole July through, and other than a handful of days, we always had a fruity dessert after dinner. Peaches, plums, apricots, mangoes, and a few cherries. Then one day zilch. Nothing. The next day, same again. The kids soon got used to enjoying a bowl of chilled yogurt after dinner. They pretty much settled into this routine, till the ‘accusation‘ rang loud in the air! He shook me out of my sweet languor … I’m glad he did.

I had bought a bunch of plums the other day that were sitting in the fridge calling to be made into dessert. I think that’s why I buy so much fruit, but sometimes lose the ‘get up & go’ to ‘dessert them’. On my mind was a Brown Sugar Plum Cake that Ari @ Baking and Books had posted back in July. I saw it quite late, but immediately fell in love with the simplicity, & the idea of plums within.

Unfortunately for the poor plum, I have always underestimated this fruit; have allowed the peach far greater attention. I have used peaches extensively this season alone, and often in combination with plums. I treated the poor plums like a fruit that happened to be there because it’s summer, rather than a fruit that celebrates summer. Ari’s post changed my entire perspective and gave plums a whole new identity, making me me look at them again. Yes, they need a standing ovation!

I served these delightful cakes warm, with unsweetened whipped cream. Fabulous texture, ever so slightly chewy, well balanced sweetness, and the sudden burst of the tangy plum. This was a bit heavier on butter per serving, but most welcome after the dessert hiatus! Ari’s post had 4 bigger servings out of the recipe, but I made 6 smaller ones. They were good satisfying portions.The plums sank to the bottom even though I left them peeping out. Maybe I pushed them in a wee bit extra. So, ten minutes into baking, I thought I’d top the batter with another half of plum, but the batter flowed out. So I hurriedly sliced the other halves and topped the remaining 4 ramekins with slices. Maybe I should have made 7 ramekins…just a thought.This is an excellent make ahead summer dessert. We loved it served at room temperature. I did a couple of changes from Ari’s recipe. The main one being using buttermilk instead of whole milk. Had used buttermilk previously as a substitute in these Dark Chocolate, Craisin & Walnut Scones that I had made from a David Lebovitz recipe, where the buttermilk worked quite well. Also used vanilla sugar instead of plain sugar. I love the deep flavour vanilla sugar adds to baking, especially paired with summer fruits, so I always have a 2 cup jar of vanilla sugar ready.

BROWN SUGAR PLUM CAKES
Adapted from Ari @ Baking and Books
Adapted by Ari from Baking with Julia, by Dorie Greenspan.
Makes 6 single-serving cakes
Ingredients:
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
4 ripe plums, halved and pitted
Special equipment: 6 small ramekins or oven-safe baking dishes Method:

• Preheat your oven to 180C. Lightly grease the ramekins/baking dishes with a neutral oil.
• Place the butter, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and the vanilla sugar together in a bowl & cream on medium speed for 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for 3 minutes more, or until the mixture turns white. Increase the speed to high and add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the vanilla and almond extracts, beating on high for 30 seconds more.
• On low speed add the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, then the baking soda, beating for 15 seconds. Add the buttermilk and mix again for a few seconds, then finish the mixing process by hand to prevent over mixing the batter.
• Divide the batter among your baking dishes. Place a plum half, cut side up, into each dish, gently pushing it down into the batter. Don’t push it in too far, you want to leave some of it above batter level. Sprinkle an equal amount of the remaining brown sugar over each plum. Sprinkle with almond slivers if you like.
• Place the dishes on a cookie pan, then bake for 25-30 minutes until the cakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake part of the dessert comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving warm, topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if you like.
• These cakes will keep for one day, wrapped airtight and at room temperature.

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