Stanley Plum Cake

prune plums2

These lovely little plums that are in the farmers' markets in abundance right now are called "Stanley" plums.

I never knew this, since I have always called them "Italian" plums, or "Prune" plums.
I guess it depends on what part of the country you live in.
You learn something new everyday.

Since "Stanley" is a cute name, and these little plums are so cute, let's call this a Stanley Plum Cake.

This recipe is a simple one from the book A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes.
This cake is not a sweet dessert, it is more a showcase for the fruit.
I made it on a Sunday at noon, to serve that day at 4. It's best eaten the day of baking.



Stanley Plum Cake (adapted from A Platter of Figs by David Tanis)

2 lbs. of prune plums (small size egg shaped plums), pitted and sliced into thick slices
1 cup of almonds, ground in a food processor (or 1 cup of almond meal)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of flour
1/8 tsp salt

2 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
4 tbsp of melted butter, cooled
1/4 cup of sugar for sprinkling on top of the cake



Grease a 9" tart pan with removable bottom or springform pan.

Mix your ground almonds with sugar, flour and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix your eggs with the butter and milk and slowly add to your dry ingredients.

Pour batter into your greased pan. Spread plum slices in a fan shape around the pan in a circular pattern.
Sprinkle the plums liberally with sugar.



Bake in a 350F oven for 40-45 minutes until golden.

Serve with vanilla ice cream on the side.



Comments

Ciao Chow Linda said…
I never heard of Stanley plums - just Italian prune plums. Whatever you call them, they are great for baking in cakes like yours. I love that it's not too sweet.
kat said…
with a scoop of ice cream, yum!
LizNoVeggieGirl said…
Stanley plums, eh?? Well I know I love plums (just finished eating one actually, haha), so I'm sure I'd love the Stanley plums in a cake! :-D
Lori Lynn said…
That is a cute name. Looks delicious.
LL
Anonymous said…
The plum cake sounds excellent, love the name! The addition of almonds is great, plums & almonds are our recent favorite combination!
Foodiewife said…
The things that you teach me! First, how to spell raspberry the right way and now that my Italian Prunes are also known as Stanley Plums! I just bought a lot of these, because I make an amazing Bavarian Plum Tart. I'll be posting that later on in the week. These are the ONLY plums I like. I like that you used almonds-- my favorite kind of nut. Oh, I'll be making this before the plums go out of their short season.
Pam said…
Wow - it's beautiful. My neighbor has a plum tree...I guess I better go pick some so I can make this.
Dewi said…
Love this litle plumps on the cake. It sounds really tempting Stacey!
I love the honeycomb effect on top of this cake!
noble pig said…
It looks so beautiful! Very nice.
The JR said…
Another great looking cake Stacey.
Ramona
Dana said…
I LOVE plums in cake. There is a family down our street that has one of these plum trees just bursting with fruit in their yard. Do you think they would mind if I picked some? :)
lisa is cooking said…
I love those little prune plums. I have a tart made with them to post this week. Your plum cake looks fantastic, and now I want to go get more prune plums!
LaDue & Crew said…
I'm kicking myself for reading this at 11:30 at night- I want some!
Tine said…
Made this yesterday and the whole family loved it! Our plums were at their ripest and we used the last ones off the tree to make this beautiful cake. Thank you!