Apple season
is almost upon us, so why am I talking about plums? Because they just appeared
in our market, and they were so darn cute! So here's the last hurrah for summer.
Technically,
these are prune plums—you know, those little ones that you can dry and eat, or
that you can stew. When I was young, they were said to be good for the
digestion, a theory my mother subscribed to. I was not impressed. But I don’t
remember ever seeing the raw variety, which would have been a great size for a kid.
There are
various recipes for these little cuties, but this one is fairly simple, and the
hazelnut flavor goes nicely with the fruit.
Plum Hazelnut Torte
Preheat your
oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds
prune plums
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup
hazelnuts
1-1/4 cups
all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp
baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 sticks
(3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
(you can add a little hazelnut extract if you have it)
Quarter and
pit the plums (the pits come out easily). Coarsely chop half of them, put them
in a bowl, and toss with 2 Tblsp sugar.
In another
bowl, combine the remaining plums (not chopped) with 2 Tblsp sugar.
On a baking
sheet or pan, in the middle of the oven, lightly toast the hazelnuts in a single layer
(until you can smell them and they look golden—do not let them burn!). This
should take 10-15 minutes. Cool the nuts, then grind them fine in a food
processor. [Note: if you toast hazelnuts with the skins on, then rub them
between your palms—let them cook first!--most of the skin will flake off.]
Whisk
together the ground hazelnuts, flour, baking powder and salt.
In a stand
mixer (or use a hand mixer) beat the butter and the remaining sugar until the
mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each
addition. Then beat in the vanilla and the flour mixture until just combined
(do not overbeat).
Drain the
chopped plums in a sieve, pressing on the fruit to get out most of the liquid,
and then pat them dry. (If you don’t the cake will be soggy and won’t cook
through.) Stir the plums into the batter and spread in the prepared pan.
Drain the
quartered plums the same way, then arrange them, skin side up, over the batter.
Bake the
torte in the middle of the oven for 1 hr 20 minutes, or until it is golden
brown and a tester poked in the middle comes out clean.
Cool the
torte in the pan on a rack for 30 minutes. Remove the sides or rim of the pan
and let the torte cool completely.
You can serve
this with whipped cream if you like, or sprinkle some powdered sugar over it.
It’s a moist tasty cake so it’s fine on its own.
A Gala Event (Orchard Mystery #9) is coming in just over a month! Just in time for apple harvest season, except the story takes place in December, when the harvest is done--no time for a wedding before that.
Look for it at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
www.sheilaconnolly.com
By the way, my own orchard (all eight trees) is doing very well this year.
This is the Hudson's Golden Gem variety |
What a lovely creation. And I'm sure it tastes as good as it looks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip about drying the fruit to avoid a soggy cake.
Color me green today. Your apples are wonderful. Prune plums are hard to find, and they're so delicious baked. I'm packing now and on my way to your house. Yum!
ReplyDeleteMy apples are getting away from me! I've got a whole batch of the Hudsons that fell off the tree but aren't quite ripe enough to eat, but I'm not sure I want to make a gallon of jelly. What to do, what to do... But the little plums worked well in the cake, maybe better than full-sized ones would because they don't weigh it down.
Delete