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!