Plum Tea Cake

This past Shabbat was the first one spent with the new class of 2011. My fellow madrichot were responsible for purchasing food for the post dinner tisch and the kiddush the following morning. I had said that I wasnt going to bake because I usually bake alot and it puts me out of commission a whole day. But when we were going over what we were going to buy, I realized that there would be nothing homey, nothing special... and so, I caved and decided to bake. It seems I just cant resist.... I didnt bake a lot.. really I didnt. I made cinnamon babkas, brownies and peanut brownies and these Plum Tea Cakes. Plum may sound like an odd choice but our wonderful cook let me know that there were plums on the verge of going bad so instead of going to waste, I opted to bake with them. I practically didnt have a choice! This summer, as plums were at the height of their seasons, I featured a few plum recipes. I was looking for one I havent made yet and so I turned to Rustic Fruit Desserts. I found the recipe for Stone Fruit Tea Cake and having all of the ingredients on hand, proceeded to make it using all fresh plums. Easy to make, this cake turns out to be quite beautiful if a bit rustic looking. Everyone loved it, and personally came up to me to compliment me on it even though most could not identify the fruit that I used. In any case, this is a terrific recipe to showcase the fruits of the season.

Plum Tea Cake

from Rustic Fruit Desserts

1 tbsp butter or margarine, for the pan

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter or margarine

3 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups plums, pitted and chunked

1 tbsp turbinado sugar

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
Place the butter/margarine and sugar in a bowl and cream for 3-5 minutes until fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add the vanilla.
Here is the resulting batter.
Add the dry ingredients,
and beat until blended. Chill the dough for thirty minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Grease a 10 inch tart pan. Spread half of the batter into the pan.
Top with the fruit.
Dollop with the remaining batter and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until lightly golden and firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely before serving.