The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (316 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Plum cake can be anything from an Alsatian tart to a German yeasted bread. In most recipes, the plums either sink into the cake and create a sodden center or they are sliced too thin to contribute a lot of flavor. We wanted an easy-to-make cake with a sturdy yet moist crumb that had good flavor and a hefty plum presence. To create a rich, moist cake that was strong enough to hold the plums aloft, we replaced some of the flour with ground almonds (many European cakes do this). The ground nuts introduced strength and additional flavor, and we also found that we didn’t need to cream the almond-enhanced batter, since it was sturdy enough to be mixed in the food processor used to grind the nuts. As for the fruit, while we liked the Italian plums that are especially well suited for baking, we found their season to be too short to be practical. Poaching our common supermarket plums (and Italian plums when we could find them) in a few tablespoons of jam and brandy, as well as their own juice, sufficiently heightened their flavor and kept them moist, even after a spell in the oven.

SERVES 8

This recipe works best with Italian plums, which are also called prune plums. If substituting regular red or black plums, use an equal weight of plums, cut them into eighths, and stir them a few times while cooking. Arrange slices, slightly overlapped, in two rings over surface of cake. Do not use canned Italian plums. Don’t add the leftover plum cooking liquid to the cake before baking; reserve it and serve with the finished cake (or reserve for serving over ice cream). The cake can be served with
WHIPPED CREAM
.

1.
Cook jelly and brandy in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until thick and syrupy, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and place plums cut side down in syrup. Return skillet to medium heat and cook, shaking pan to prevent plums from sticking, until plums release their juices and liquid reduces to thick syrup, about 5 minutes. Let plums cool in skillet, about 20 minutes.

2.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9-inch springform pan. Process sugar and almonds in food processor until nuts are finely ground, about 1 minute. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and pulse to combine, about 5 pulses. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand, about 10 pulses. Add egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and almond extract, if using, and process until smooth, about 5 seconds, scraping down bowl if needed (batter will be very thick and heavy).

3.
Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top with rubber spatula. Stir plums to coat with syrup. Arrange plum halves, skin side down, evenly over surface of batter. Bake until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out with few crumbs attached, 40 to 50 minutes. Run thin knife around sides of cake to loosen. Cool in pan on wire rack until just warm or to room temperature, at least 30 minutes. Run thin knife between cake and sides of pan; remove sides of pan. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

This dessert, which marries cake with fresh summer peaches, is a bakery favorite, but most versions are plagued by soggy cake and barely noticeable peach flavor. We wanted a buttery cake that was moist yet not at all soggy, with a golden-brown exterior and plenty of peach flavor. Roasting chunks of peaches, tossed in sugar and a little lemon juice, helped concentrate their flavor and expel moisture before we combined them with our cake batter. However, during roasting, the peach chunks became swathed in a flavorful but unpleasantly gooey film. Coating our roasted peaches in panko bread crumbs before combining them with the batter ensured the film was absorbed by the crumbs, which then dissolved into the cake during baking. To amplify the peach flavor we tossed the fruit with peach schnapps before roasting, and a little almond extract added to the batter lent a subtle complementary note. Fanning peach slices (macerated with a little more of the schnapps) over the top, then sprinkling over some almond extract–enhanced sugar for a light glaze, ensured our cake looked as good as it tasted.

SERVES 8

To crush the panko bread crumbs, place them in a zipper-lock bag and smash them with a rolling pin. If you can’t find panko, ¹⁄
₄
cup of plain, unseasoned bread crumbs can be substituted. Orange liqueur can be substituted for the peach schnapps. If using peak-of-season, farm-fresh peaches, omit the peach schnapps.

1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil spray. Grease and flour 9-inch springform pan. Gently toss 24 peach wedges with 2 tablespoons schnapps, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar in bowl; set aside.

2.
Cut remaining peach wedges crosswise into 3 chunks. In large bowl, gently toss chunks with remaining 3 tablespoons schnapps, remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Spread peach chunks in single layer on prepared baking sheet and bake until exuded juices begin to thicken and caramelize at edges of pan, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and let peaches cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

3.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl. Whisk ¹⁄
₃
cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs together in bowl until thick and thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter until combined. Add sour cream, vanilla, and ¹⁄
₄
teaspoon almond extract; whisk until combined. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined.

4.
Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Using offset spatula, spread batter evenly to pan edges and smooth top. Sprinkle crushed panko evenly over cooled peach chunks and gently toss to coat. Arrange peach chunks on batter in pan in even layer, gently pressing peaches into batter. Gently spread remaining batter over peach chunks and smooth top. Arrange reserved peach wedges, slightly overlapped, in ring over surface of batter, placing smaller wedges in center. Stir remaining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and remaining ¹⁄
₈
teaspoon almond extract together in small bowl until sugar is moistened. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over top of cake.

5.
Bake cake until center is set and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Run thin knife between cake and sides of pan; remove sides of pan. Let cake cool completely, 2 to 3 hours, before serving.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

The classic pineapple upside-down cake recipe relies on the simple technique of cooking the fruit in sugar and butter in a heavy skillet (usually cast iron), topping it with cake batter, then baking it. The classic version, made with canned pineapple, is lacking true pineapple flavor, so we had higher hopes for a cake made with fresh fruit. However, while the flavor was certainly better, the fresh pineapple’s juices turned the cake soggy. By caramelizing the pineapple in a skillet along with the sugar, we found we could control the moisture level. We removed the fruit from the pan once it turned golden brown, then added butter and reduced the syrup until it was just the right consistency. For a cake batter that could stand up to its topping without becoming a gummy mess, we started with a classic butter cake, then cut back on the milk to alleviate gumminess and added an egg white, which lightened the texture without compromising the structure. Reducing the amount of sugar ensured our final pineapple-topped cake wasn’t too sweet.

SERVES 8

For this recipe, we prefer to use a 9-inch cake pan with sides that are at least 2 inches high. Alternatively, a 10-inch ovensafe skillet (cast iron or stainless steel) can be used to both cook the pineapple and bake the cake. If using a skillet instead of a cake pan, cool the juices directly in the skillet while making the batter; it’s fine if the skillet is warm when the batter is added.

TOPPING

CAKE

1.
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch round cake pan, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pan.

2. FOR THE TOPPING:
Cook pineapple and brown sugar in 10-inch skillet over medium heat until pineapple is translucent and has light brown hue, 15 to 18 minutes, stirring occasionally during first 5 minutes. Transfer fruit and juices to fine-mesh strainer set over bowl (you should have about 2 cups cooked fruit). Return juices to skillet and simmer over medium heat until thickened, beginning to darken, and mixture forms large bubbles, 6 to 8 minutes, adding any more juices released by fruit to skillet after about 4 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and vanilla. Pour caramel mixture into prepared cake pan and set aside while preparing cake. (Pineapple will continue to release liquid as it sits; do not add this liquid to already-reduced juice mixture.)

3. FOR THE CAKE:
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, add vanilla, and beat to combine. Increase speed to medium-high, add eggs and egg white, 1 at a time, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of milk, scraping down bowl as needed (batter will be thick). Give batter final stir by hand.

4.
Working quickly, distribute drained pineapple in cake pan in even layer, gently pressing fruit into caramel. Using rubber spatula, drop mounds of batter over fruit, then spread batter over fruit and to sides of pan in even layer. Gently tap pan on counter to release air bubbles. Bake cake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack, then place inverted serving platter over cake pan. Invert cake pan and platter together, then remove pan. Let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, and serve.

Add 1 tablespoon grated orange zest to skillet with pineapple in step 2, and add ¹⁄
₄
cup orange juice to skillet in step 2 after draining pineapple and returning juices to skillet. Whisk ³⁄
₄
teaspoon ground cardamom into flour mixture in step 3.

Add 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger to skillet with pineapple in step 2. Beat ³⁄
₄
cup sweetened shredded coconut with butter and sugar in step 4. Substitute ¹⁄
₂
cup room-temperature coconut milk for whole milk.