Right Now: Plum Cake

A fall cake with all the good stuff

In September, we make plum cake. Marion Burros gets credit for the plum cake phenomenon – her famous plum torte is a forgiving masterpiece – but plums lend themselves to all kinds of variation, so each fall, I change things up slightly.

This particular cake has a hint of cornmeal and a buttery, just-sweet-enough crumb. The cornmeal bakes up to a deep golden hue that caramelizes a bit along the edges. It’s sturdy enough that you can eat it with one hand over the sink. In the middle, jammy plums lend beautiful sour bursts to each bite. The top has a low-effort strudel that kind of half melts and gives the top a crisp, sugary layer. If you prefer a more crumb-y strudel, just pop the mixture in the fridge while the cake bakes. 

If you like variation, or just using up what you have on hand, here are a few options:

• Sub any flavorful flour for the cornmeal – spelt, whole wheat, or rye would all be delicious.

• Instead of plums, add seeded concord grapes, halved figs, or 1/2-inch thick apple or pear slices

• Play with the spices – ground allspice, cloves, ginger, garam masala, cinnamon, and freshly grated nutmeg are all delicious. Just try to keep the total spices used to 1 - 1 ½ teaspoons.

This cake is excellent the day it's made, and even better for breakfast the next morning. Make it fancy with flavored whipped cream (molasses? brown sugar?) or a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Cornmeal Plum Cake

A versatile and forgiving plum cake that’s perfect for these first days of fall. This cake will keep well covered at room temp for 2 days.