Plum crazy

It has been hot in Seattle. Really, ridiculously hot. All I want to do is bathe in a bowl of ice cream or sit in ice water all day. The other night I made David take me to Ikea because a. there is air conditioning there and b. there is frozen yogurt at the end. I say at the end , because to me Ikea is like a ride. Fun and a little terrifying, with some of the longest waiting time on earth. Speaking of rides, I keep having this reoccurring dream that I am on the Pirates of The Caribbean ride at Disney land and that the drops are waaaaay longer than I remember them being. This is a problem because I am a wimp and HATE drops. I will not go on a roller coaster no matter how much you try and convince me. Anyway, weird dream and I don't know why I keep having it. Is it a sign that I'm supposed to go to Disney land or that I shouldn't because I might die on an ocean adventure?

Even though it's hot I still love the summer (do you like how I went off on a tangent and didn't even try to connect it to anything? that's what it's like having a conversation with me). One of my favorite parts of summer is all the amazing seasonal fruit. For some reason this year I haven't been baking a lot of fruit desserts. Most likely because my schedule has been crazy and also because of the heat.


My favorite fruit to bake with is the plum. I love plums and I love them even better when they are baked with sugar and other deliciousness. I've tried many plum recipes through the years and my very favorite is a torte from Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters. The cook book is hit or miss for me but the plum cake/torte is one of my very favorite summer treats. It's simplest to make and yet has such a smart flavor profile. Tart plums in vanilla cake sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Mmmmmmm.

Esther Pullman's Plum Torte from Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/3 cups sugar divided
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
12 italian plums pitted, or 3 large plums pitted and cut in eighths
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat a 9 inch spring form pan with vegetable spray and dust with flour. Cut a parchment paper or wax paper liner to fit the bottom of pan. Insert the liner and coat with spray and flour. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Cream together butter and 1 cup of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat in eggs. Add dry ingredients then vanilla. pour the batter in the pan and arrange the plums on top. Sprinkle with the lemon juice. Combine the remaining sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle over the plums. Bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.



Another easy way to use plums is as a condiment for pork. Pit and dice about 4 plums. Put into a sauce pan with 1/3 cup of red wine and 3 tbsp (or more to taste) of Worcestershire sauce. Add a pinch of salt and sugar and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer until you have a jam like consistency. Serve over the top of grilled pork (I used a shoulder steak sprinkled with garlic powder and paprika).