Tuesdays With Dorie: Dimply Plum Cake (for real this time)

I'm technically not late...when I removed the cake from the oven, it was 11:50 p.m. In any case, most of you saw my previous Dimply Plum Cake post where I featured the Peach/Basil version of this week's recipe challenge. I didn't want anyone to think I was copping out on the original recipe. I just had a huge test to prepare for. I took the test today and it totally knocked the wind out of me that I almost have no business baking a cake this late. What happens when it's late and you're tired? Yeah, silly things. Like accidentally dropping half an egg shell into the batter. Sure did. I did my best to get it all out, but if someone happens to feel a little crunch (or two, or three...) well.....my bad! I just didn't want all those ingredients to go to waste, you know? Looking at this picture, you wouldn't know anything had been dropped into the batter.

Anyway, I also had to bake the cake tonight because the plums I bought over the weekend were about to go bad. Now I've never used cardamom in any recipe before, but it smelled so good! When I took the cake out of the oven, the scent of the cardamom permeated the kitchen and my mouth was watering! This is what it looked like when I set it out to cool. You'll notice that I still didn't need as much fruit as the recipe recommended and the plums give the cake a nicer color.

I don't exactly know what happened during the transfer process. By the time the cake reached the plate, it had cracked around the edges, but you would never notice. I took the effort to make sure no one would notice by taking a semi-aerial photo of the cake. How did I do?

After slicing a small portion of the cake for myself, I decided that plum beats peaches, hands down.

The plums are tart, but subtly so. I think the cardamom does a great job of evening that out. The breaded part of this cake was so much more moist than the peach version too. Maybe that's just a baker error! So this wraps up yet another TWD week. Again, this recipe is featured on Michelle's blog--Bake-en! Enjoy!

Tuesdays With Dorie: Dimply Plum Cake

This week's TWD recipe challenge was chosen by Michelle of Bake-en. Her blog features this one-of-a-kind recipe that you'll find family members and friends begging you for more! I actually did the peach/lemon zest/basil variation on the original recipe (as recommended by Dorie Greenspan herself!) only because I got stuck with about 2 dozen peaches that my mom brought over from a friend's house. Since they were so ripe, I had to get rid of them...and fast!

This cake was so easy to make and had a unique flavor. The combination of lemon zest, basil and peaches made me nervous, but it ended up being more delicious than I thought--not to mention, the cake was just about the cutest thing I've seen! This is what the cake looked like before I slipped it into the oven. Even then, it looked really good!

Because the peaches I used were fairly large, I only had to use 4 and a 1/2 of them. This is what it looked like after I removed it from the oven and cooled it completely. I was ready to eat it right then and there, but remembered that I had to wait on company to arrive. Good thing I'm a caring and considerate person :)

The picture at the start of this post shows some plums that I fully intend to make the original recipe with. I intended to bake it tonight, but I got home from class a lot later than anticipated and am too tired to do it. What's worse is that I should be studying for a finance exam, but whatever, I'd take food blogging over that any day! I'll post the pictures of the actual plum cake soon though!

At any rate, the guests (particularly my mom) loved the cake and I've received requests (also from mom) to make more. Ask and she will receive!

So if you're interested in making this beauty of a cake, take a sneek peek at Michelle's blog. You won't regret it! Next week's recipe? Creme Brulee! I'm so nervous about it. I've never done it before, but that's the whole purpose of joining this group--to expand my baking horizons. Now I have to get my hands on a mini blow torch. Hmmmmm......Michelle + chef's torch can't possibly amount to anything good. Wish me luck!

Blueberry Buttermilk Coffee Cake

Okay, so this is actually the second time I'm typing this. I somehow pressed the wrong key and the previous entry just vanished before my eyes. Yeah, figures. Anyway, would I be considered a recipe thief if I've borrowed more than one recipe from a good friend's blog? I actually kinda feel guilty for it. But in my defense, Melissa's got so many simple and delicious recipes on her blog, Love at First Bite, that I totally believe call out, "make me! make me!", every time I'm on her site. Check it out...you'll probably end up doing it too.

Apparently, Melissa made this for her family while on vacation and they totally devoured the whole thing--which was no different in my household. The only problem...there was only my sister and I to do the eating. Thankfully, we couldn't eat the whole thing, but if I had absolutely no control, I probably would have. But Melissa, thanks so much for introducing me to another great recipe, which she found from a Good Housekeeping magazine. I'm going to try your Spaghetti Pie recipe next!

Well, I knew I had blueberries waiting in the refrigerator to be used. Not surprisingly, they'd been in there long enough to have a small patch of mold developing in the bottom corner of the container. Yikes! Yuck! Conveniently, we have a Safeway less than half a mile down the road and Roz and I set out to get blueberries and buttermilk, which the recipe also calls for. Duh--Blueberry Buttermilk Coffee Cake! Correct me if I'm wrong, but blueberries must be out-of-season, because they weren't where they usually are in the produce section--next to the packaged strawberries and raspberries. Or maybe I was just losing my mind--who knows? That happens a lot! Highly disappointed, we set out to the freezer section to get frozen blueberries. We got enough of those and buttermilk to make another batch on the weekend and headed home.

The frozen blueberries, just slightly thawed, folded into the batter so easily. The batter was just so creamy and rich when we poured it into the pan and even more enticing when we scattered the streusel topping on. Yummy!

Oh my gosh! And when it came out, the smell was just heavenly. I can't even describe it! You're supposed to cool the cake for a while before digging in, but we couldn't help it. We totally just scooped ourselves out a generous serving.

This is seriously how much the two of us ate all by ourselves. I'm taking it to my mom's house before I head out to school, just so I'm not at home alone munching on it! I have my uncles coming back out to my house this weekend to finish up my fence. They're just going to love it to start out their morning! Here's the recipe and I do hope you enjoy it. Thanks again to Melissa for sharing this recipe!

Blueberry Buttermilk Coffee Cake

(from Good Housekeeping magazine)

Streusel Topping:

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 Tbsp. cold butter or margarine, cut up

Coffee Cake:

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar

10 Tbsp. butter or margarine (1 and 1/4 sticks), softened

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 and 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 pint blueberries (about 2 and 1/2 cups)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 13" by 9" metal baking pan; dust with flour.

2. Prepare streusel topping: In medium bowl, combine brown sugar, flour and butter. With fingertips, work in butter until mixture is crumbly. Refrigerate streusel while preparing cake.

3. Prepare coffee cake: On waxed paper, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat sugar with butter until blended. Increase speed to medium-high; beat until creamy, about 2 minutes, frequently scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to low; add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

4. At low speed, beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until batter is smooth, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. With spatula, fold in all but 1/2 cup blueberries.

5. Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. Sprinkle batter with reserved blueberries. With fingers, press streusel into clumps; sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake coffee cake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 1 hour to serve warm, or cool completely to serve later.

Makes 16 servings.