Plum Coffee Cake

 Usually when I'm in the mood to bake something, I choose what I'm going to bake, based on what ingredients I have on hand. Well, this time, I chose the recipe based on what I DIDN'T have on hand. It rarely happens, but somehow or other, I ran out of butter. WHAT???? I know. I know. It's crazy. Clearly I wasn't paying attention. Oh well. What can you do? So how does one bake without butter? First, one googles recipes that use oil instead. I also wanted to use some gorgeous red plums that were so ripe and sweet and juicy, they were begging to be baked into something fabulous. More googling. Luckily I found this recipe on Joyofbaking.com that just happens to fit all of my baking criteria. (Isn't Google a wonderful thing?) So I whipped it up, popped it in the oven, and in no time at all my apartment was smelling HEAVENLY as I was setting this perfectly gorgeous cake out to cool. It's REALLY easy to make, (you don't even need a mixer) and it's super tasty! Seriously, if you're a baking novice, you can do this one! If you can measure, you can bake it!
   Another great thing about this recipe is that you can use it as a blank slate for any sort of variation you'd like. The recipe states that you can add lemon or orange zest, but how about some almond extract? Or how about switching up the fruit! Use peaches or nectarines or sliced strawberries, even sliced apples or pears! And how about a pinch or two of spice? It SCREAMS for cinnamon and/or nutmeg. Just add some to the dry ingredients and then add a little to the sugar on top. SO many different possibilities. I know I'll be making this again and again, but I'm wondering if I'll ever make it the same way twice!! Maybe next time I'll really pump up the vanilla flavor by adding some fresh vanilla bean to the batter. YUM. And if YOU can think of any variations, be sure to let me know!!
 So, thank you, Joyofbaking.com, for the fabulous recipe. I now have a new favorite go-to recipe, and I didn't even have to go to the store to buy butter!

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 
1/4 cup ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder 
1/4 teaspoon salt 

2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole milk plain yogurt or flavored yogurt 
Zest of one orange or lemon (optional) 
1 teaspoon  pure vanilla extract
1 cup granulated white sugar 
7 - 8 Italian prune plums, halved and pitted or 4 - 5 red or black plums, halved and pitted (if the plums are large then cut into quarters)
1 - 2 tablespoons coarse brown sugar

 Heat oven ton 375ºF. Butter an 8 inch spring form pan. (Alternatively spray pan with non stick vegetable/flour spray.) Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set Aside.

 In a large bowl, stir or whisk together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt.
In another large bowl, stir or whisk together the eggs, oil, yogurt, orange or lemon zest (if using), and vanilla extract. Stir in the sugar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and evenly arrange the halved plums on top of the batter, flesh side facing up. Sprinkle with the brown sugar.
Bake in preheated oven for about 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. You can serve this cake with a little honey drizzled over the top or with a dollop of whipped cream, ice cream, or lightly sweetened yogurt. 


Tips:
If you don't have yogurt, you can just use an equal amount of regular sour cream (which is what I used), or an equal amount of buttermilk.
Oh, and one other thing... Whenever I bake ANYTHING, I always taste the batter before I bake it. More times than not, I wind up adding an extra pinch of salt. It REALLY brings out the flavor of whatever you're baking!

Roasted Cinnamon Plums

This is a really simple dish that throws together in literally just a few minutes, but it tastes like you went to a lot of trouble. I first saw it when I was watching Chuck's Day Off. It looked so yummy and simple I knew I had to try it. Chuck served it with honey butter on pieces of toasted crusty bread (as is stated below), but I think they would be perfect with a little vanilla yogurt and some granola sprinkled over the top. Don't you think? I'm sure you can use this same recipe for peaches or nectarines instead of plums. I'll have to give that a try one of these days. Anyway, it's a perfect little brunch item that isn't the usual fruit salad, and it's SO delicious!
Try it!


6-8 ripe purple prune plums
2 tbs brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
zest of half a lemon

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
Cut the plums in half, and remove the pits. Place the plums in a baking dish, skin-side down, and sprinkle with sugar, and cinnamon, and grate a little lemon zest over the top.
Place the baking dish in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, or until soft.
Serve over warm bread that has been buttered or 'buttered and honeyed.'

Tips:
This type of recipe is perfect to suit to your own taste. I didn't measure anything. I just arranged the fruit and then sprinkled everything over the top until it was enough. If you like extra brown sugar or extra lemon zest, go for it! Like my Mom always said, "do you like a lot? Add a lot." When I made them, I added a little orange zest in addition to the lemon zest over the top.You could even drizzle them with a little honey. Yum!

Oh, btw, I borrowed the picture from the cooking channel because I just couldn't seem to get a nice photo of the ones I made! What can I say, sometimes the photo just doesn't turn out right!