Late Summer Plum Cake

Author Notes

I developed this recipe for my book, *Farmers' Market Desserts*. But because I tend to write long recipes, including every detail the reader might need, space ran short and this one fell victim to the editorial axe. A recent windfall of plums from a friend’s tree reminded me it was time to make this cake.

I originally developed the recipe using the small, dense-fleshed prune plums that come toward the end of summer. This time, my fruit bowl was filled with juicy Flavor Rosa and Yummy Rosa varieties, some still firm, others soft. With these larger plums, I needed only five or six of them, and because they were juicier, the cake took a bit longer to bake (and turned out seductively moist).

I have been on a lemon verbena kick ever since putting the plant in my herb garden. If you don’t have any, substitute a teaspoon of finely chopped fresh lemon balm or lemon thyme, or ½ teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest. —JSCooks —JSCooks

Test Kitchen Notes

Fresh plums, which are at their peak in summertime, don't need much to shine—just a pillowy batter to encase them, to catch their juices, and a little sweetness to joust with their tartness. The batter for JSCooks's cake is scented with sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon (either fresh verbena leaves if you can find them, or grated lemon zest, which is much more accessible). She uses lemon verbena leaves; we went for the substitute, lemon zest, and the cake did not suffer for it, which means yours won’t either. Sour cream adds a welcome richness, and its tang offsets some of the sweetness from the fruit and added sugar (both granulated and brown sugar are used here).

Admittedly, this cake takes a while to bake—a full 50 minutes, plus 20 minutes of resting time. It’s not the recipe to pick when you’re already running late for the family picnic and forgot you offered to bring dessert. But for every other moment, when you’re on your game, it’s the epitome of a sweet summer snack.

As for serving, do go the extra mile and make fresh whipped cream or buy some crème fraîche (it just depends whether you’re looking for more or less sweetness). Our favorite whipped cream recipe comes from Nancy Silverton and is really the best of both worlds—it calls for 1 cup of whipping cream and 4 tablespoons of crème fraîche; whip the cream in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until it begins to thicken, then gently fold in the crème fraîche by hand, exercising caution so as to not deflate the freshly formed peaks. For a cake like this, we prefer the whipped cream to have soft peaks, rather than stiff, tight peaks. The lucid, creamy texture is easy on the eyes and encases each forkful of cake. Serve it with ice cream, too, because why not? It’s the dog days of summer, and we need every bit of cool that we can get.
—The Editors