Meringue Plum Cake for the third anniversary!

On September 19, my little blog turned three!  Another year filled with recipes and stories that wouldn’t be the same without all of you, my dear readers.  YOU, whom I all consider my friends by now, make this experience exciting, inspiring and so, so much fun.  And I can’t thank you enough for being here and for all your kindness and support! 

 

It seems to be a recurring theme to celebrate my blog birthday with some sort of delicious plum concoction.  This year is no exception.  But there’s no better way to let go of summer and celebrate the third anniversary than with a classic recipe from my grandmother.  This is another stellar summer dessert and one of my grandma’s favorite sweets to whip up during the sizzling summer heat. 

What I love about this cake, besides its luscious flavors and stunning colors, is its versatility and easy transition to richer tastes and ingredients.  Although I like to honor the last plums of the hot season by making this beautiful dessert, you can also try this cake with peaches, apricots or sour cherries, and I encourage you to swap the stone fruits for ricotta cheese when cooler weather rolls around.  You’ll be in for a special treat!     

   

This Meringue Plum Cake is humble in appearance but huge in flavor.  The tartness and juiciness of the plums pair beautifully with the intense sweetness and relaxed stickiness of the meringue.  In the end, the two complement each other to create a well-balanced sweet treat. 

You first bite into the crackly, foamy meringue top and then sink your teeth into the meaty and zesty plums only to finish with the soft, subtle, dough.  And while my grandma usually fancies a light, fluffy dough in her summery cakes, this time around, the base is more subdued allowing the succulent plums and frothy meringue to shine through.  I made a full tray of this gorgeous cake for my husband to indulge while I was away for a couple of days; upon my return, all I found was an empty tray filled with crumbs and traces of (what was) a wonderful cake.  I guess he loved it!

Meringue Plum Cake

By Simply Romanesco inspired by my Grandma Vicki

Makes: 18 squares

Ingredients:

·         200 grams (14 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan

·         200 grams (scant 1 cup) sugar, plus more for dusting

·         4 large eggs, at room temperature

·         1 Tablespoon sour cream

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         350 grams (2 ½ cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1 kilogram (2 pounds) plums, about 5 large ones, pitted and quartered or sliced as desired

·         200 grams (1 ½ cups) confectioners’ sugar         

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Coat the bottom and sides of a 14 by 10-inch baking pan with butter and flour.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.  Set aside.  

Separate the egg yolks and egg whites and keep close at hand.  In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium-low speed beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the egg yolks one at a time and beat until incorporated.  Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated.  In batches, add the flour and baking powder mixture and beat until incorporated; the batter will be neither soft nor hard.  Using clean hands, gather the dough into a ball and place it into the prepared pan.  Spread the dough into an even layer with your hands or a spatula.  

Arrange the plums on top and sprinkle about ½ teaspoon of granulated sugar over each slice of plum.  Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the cake is golden and about 85-90% ready.

In the meantime, in a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  In batches, add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until the mixture is glossy and holds firm peaks, about 7-10 minutes. 

Take the cake out of the oven.  Dollop the meringue topping over the cake and spread it carefully all over with a spatula.

Place the cake back in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the meringue browns gently.  Check constantly as the browning can happen faster.

Take the cake out of the oven and cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a rack.  Slice the cake into squares and carefully take the squares out of the pan and arrange them on a serving platter. 

Variations: If you prefer to try this cake with ricotta cheese instead of stone fruits, mix 500 grams (1 pound) whole milk ricotta cheese with 2 large eggs, zest from half a lemon, and 2-3 Tablespoons sugar to taste.  Place it over the dough base and follow the rest of the instructions.    

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)

Honey and cinnamon plum cake for turning two!

My little blog turned two, last week!  And, you know, this journey would hardly be so much fun without all of you, dear readers!  And for that, I want to give you all a very big THANK YOU!!!  Thank you for reading my stories, trying my recipes, sending lovely and super sweet words of encouragement, and simply being out there and enjoying my blog!  You can’t imagine how much this all means to me!

Strangely, it seems that every year on this big, celebratory occasion I’m being followed around by the same type of plums – the cloudy purple Italian prune plums that I so long for all summer until they finally make it to the markets and into my kitchen and into sinful desserts.  Last year, I stuffed them into perfectly soft dumplings; this year, I dropped them into a deep, dark, nicely sweet and moist Pudding Cake of Honey, Cinnamon and Plums that was nothing short of legendary!

This year, my parents also enjoyed a glorious plum harvest.  The plum tree in my grandparents’ garden resembled a willow tree and almost gave in to the heavy weight of its overloaded crown of ripe plums.  Most of them found their way into simmering jams, pickled compotes, beloved cakes, and some were left for eating raw.  But while my parents, conveniently, went plum picking in the backyard, I went to the market where, luck struck, and a very generous lady put an overflowing box of swiftly ripening prune plums in my lap for virtually nothing. 

So, what do you do when fortune strikes?  You say ‘thank you very, very much’, run home and stash your freezer with multiple bags of plums to make deliciously oozing potato plum dumplings until most likely next year; and with the several remaining pounds of plums you make pan after pan of Nigel Slater’s spectacular plum cake: a pan for a second birthday, one for a Sunday brunch with friends, one for a casual wedding anniversary celebration, another one for a midweek-night sweet treat, and one more because you still have a glut of plums leftover and you like this cake way more than you care to admit!  

To be quite honest, I first made this cake about a year ago with the last fresh prune plums I had languishing around and ripening too fast for me to keep up.  But I haven’t gotten the chance to tell you about it until now.  Obviously, it’s not your posh and fancy birthday cake; it’s a charming-little-every-day-kind of cake.  It’s a sweetly mix of gingerbread and moist spice cake; spongy and sticky, deeply dark in color, loaded with warm cinnamon and tart, juicy plums that turn a vivid reddish color and slowly descend and soften into the soggy batter as the cake rises and bakes into perfection and intense flavor.  It’s a no muss, no fuss yet perfect cake for a second birthday!  

Pudding Cake of Honey, Cinnamon, and Plums

Adapted from Ripe by Nigel Slater

Makes: 16 squares

Ingredients: 

·         2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour

·         1 slightly heaping teaspoon baking powder

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 slightly heaping teaspoon cinnamon

·         2/3 cup (200 g) agave nectar

·         2 heaping Tablespoons honey

·         ½ cup (125 g) butter

·         ½ cup packed (125 g) light brown sugar

·         12 ounces (350 g) plums, pitted and halved (or quartered if they are very large)

·         2 large eggs

·         1 cup milk (240 ml)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line an 8- or 9-inch square cake pan with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon, and whisk well to combine. 

In a saucepan, warm the agave nectar, honey and butter over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the butter melts.  Once the butter has melted, stir in the light brown sugar and whisk well.  Remove the pan from the heat, and allow the mixture to cool slightly for a couple of minutes.

Break the eggs into a medium bowl, add the milk, and whisk to mix.

Pour the agave nectar mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a large, sturdy spoon until combined, and the batter is thick.  Pour in the eggs and milk mixture and continue to stir until the eggs and milk mixture is fully incorporated, and you have a loose batter without any traces of flour.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and arrange the plums on top.  The plums will drop as the cake bakes.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Place a piece of foil loosely over the top of the cake and leave to cook for 15 minutes longer.  Switch off the oven, but leave the cake in the oven for 15 more minutes.  Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool completely before slicing.           

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)

Turning one

It was a year ago that it all began; when I timidly tossed up some words, pushed a button, and launched them out onto a big, white, empty page.  And that’s how Simply Romanesco was born!  And, now here we are, turning one.  How time flies by…  It’s been an incredible ride so far, but it would have been awfully lonely without you all here.  You, my dear readers, with your kind and encouraging words, comments, and hoorays make this journey sweet, fun, and worthwhile! 

I’ve been debating whether to celebrate my 1^st blog anniversary with a dazzling, outrageously over-the-top, and imposing chocolate cake, which I made last year for Adrian’s big milestone, or with a tad less glamorous but way more delicious potato plum dumplings.  I opted for the latter.  Besides, I believe that this special occasion asks for a dessert that is deeply anchored into my upbringing and always rounds out the summer.  So, here I have for you the first recipe of the second year: Gomboţi cu Prune, or, for everyone to understand me, Potato Plum Dumplings.  

In September, the stone fruit season is on its last gasp, but it’s making for a spectacular grand finale with the arrival of the fabulous Italian prune plums.  This is when they furiously roll in with their hazy purple skin, small egg-like shape, and plump flesh.  I, for one, had been waiting for them all summer long.  Why?  To finally make these Potato Plum Dumplings.  So, I finally spotted these little gems at the Trax Farms Market, last week.  They were rapidly ripening under my eyes so when I got home I carefully stashed them in the fridge until it was time to take them out, and let the celebrations commence! 

Italian prune plums are the perfect candidate for these dumplings because they have the unique talent to easily disappear inside the dough, without having to halve or quarter them.  And when you slide your fork through a cooked hot dumpling, the surprise awaits; the meaty, saucy, and now blood orange plum oozes out; and you’re instantly lost in a cloud of sweet aromatic vapor.  And then you shower a spoonful of brown sugar over the open plum dumpling.  When you take a bite, you feel the outside coat of cinnamon perfumed crumbles, and the melting grits of sugar gently crackling under your teeth; and then the soft, mild dough happily drapes your palate, only to have the tart, slippery plum poke it with excitement.  Heaven in a bite…     

Potato Plum Dumplings

By Simply Romanesco inspired by my Grandma Vicki

Serves: 20 dumplings

Ingredients:

·         20 Italian prune plums

·         1.5 kg (3.5 pounds) potatoes

·         2 large eggs, at room temperature

·         3 teaspoons salt

·         400 grams (3 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting when forming the dumplings

·         3 Tablespoons olive oil

·         1 cup bread crumbs

·         ½ Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Put the potatoes in a large saucepan.  Cover with cold water, bring to a simmer, and cook over medium heat until tender for about 45 minutes.  Drain the potatoes, transfer them to a bowl, and let sit until just cool enough to handle; then peel and mash them thoroughly using a potato ricer (or a fork, or a potato masher); there should be no lumps bigger than a dime.  Let them cool completely.   

After the potatoes have cooled completely, add the eggs and salt.  Using clean hands, mix everything together.  Gradually, add the flour, and mix until thoroughly combined. 

Divide the dough into about 20 pieces the size of your fist.  Take a piece of dough at a time, dust your hands and the dough with flour so the dough doesn’t stick to your hands, and roll the dough with your hands from center to edge into a small circle.  Take a prune plum and place it in the center of the dough and gently seal it in, rolling the dough between your palms to form a ball.  Repeat with the rest of the dough. 

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Carefully, drop the dumplings in the water.  Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.  Once the dumplings start simmering, cook them for about 20 minutes.  Occasionally, stir the water so that the dumplings don’t stick together.

In the meantime, heat up the oil in another large pan over low heat.  Add the bread crumbs and stir until they get light brown, about 2-3 minutes.  Turn the heat off, add the cinnamon, and stir well. 

When the dumplings are cooked, turn the heat off, and drain them in a colander one or two at a time, splashing them with cold water.  Transfer them to the cinnamon bread crumbs mixture and roll them around until they get coated with bread crumbs.      

 

When you’re about to eat a potato plum dumpling, cut it in half and sprinkle it with sugar or brown sugar, to sweeten it up.  And enjoy!

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)     

From torte to upside-down cake

A good while back I revived the German influences in our Romanian cuisine with one of my favorite sweet treats – Vanilla Pudding Apple Torte.  This bold and buttery cake that gets a regal touch from the warm and smooth vanilla pudding topping is so reminiscent of my childhood and the rugged sights of my old Transylvania.  One bite and all those vivid memories are back.  I was daydreaming about it this past week; but strangely enough, I’m still meandering amid ripe stone fruits and luscious berries.  And this time I wanted something along those lines.  So, I took out my Bon Appétit Desserts tome and I found the perfect candidate – Plum-Berry Upside-Down Cake.  And just like that, I was in for a party; a party of flavors and a colorful visual; all in an upside-down cake. 

In my previous entry, I told you how desperate I was for some glossy red currants and how scarce they were around here.  But… wait for it, wait for… miracles do happen and today, these currants have made it into my kitchen… at least in a picture format.  Yes, I know, still pretty disappointing.  These are the exact currants that I pick every summer in my 92 year-old great-grandmother’s backyard.  Unfortunately, this year I missed our currant picking ritual and especially the currant picking contest against my great-grandmother.  I didn’t get the chance to be faster at currant picking and finally defeat her.  Truth be told, I’m never faster than my great-grandmother; maybe next year…   

Although some currants would have worked beautifully in this upside-down cake, they’re not mandatory.  This cake is just drop dead gorgeous without them and one hundred percent delectable!  It was the first time I had made this cake, and to be quite frank I wasn’t sure what to expect; but somehow I knew that if you add crimson plums, scarlet raspberries, and dark blackberries, you will create something great.  And I was right.  As it turns out, stone fruits and berries complement each other really well; and not just in color but also in taste!    

After a ride in the oven, the transformation is evident: the fruits become soft; the plums go from piquant and slippery to sweet and slipperier; the berries release their deep colors; they all blend in with each other, eat up the buttery brown sugar syrup that a moment ago they were comfortably lounging in, and sink into the dense and fragrant dough.  The lustrous top is still thriving, though.      

The taste?  Definitely tasty.  It sort of goes from sweet to tart and back to sweet, emphasizing a distinct undertone of warm and spicy cinnamon, which also gives a discrete darker hue to the springy dough. 

The most exciting part?  Presenting the cake on a beautiful platter.  Ironically, this is not an apple tart (obviously), but that doesn’t make it less entitled to be displayed on this pretty French tart platter.  After all, I was thinking of an apple torte before I baked this cake. 

Plum-Berry Upside-Down Cake

Adapted slightly from Bon Appétit Desserts by Barbara Fairchild

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients Topping:

·         ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

·         ½ cup (packed) light brown sugar

·         3-4 medium plums, pitted, cut into ½-inch wedges

·          ½-pint (in total) raspberries and blackberries

Ingredients Cake:

·         1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         ¼ teaspoon salt

·         ¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

·         1 cup sugar

·         2 large eggs, at room temperature

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         ½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon whole milk

Instructions:

Topping: Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat.  Add brown sugar; whisk until well blended.  Pour syrup into 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides, spreading to cover bottom evenly.  Lightly press plums into syrup in circle around edge of pan.  Spread berries in center. 

Do ahead: Can be made 3 hours ahead.  Let stand at room temperature.

Cake: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.  Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.  Beat butter in another medium bowl until smooth.  Gradually add sugar to butter and beat until well combined.  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla extract.  Stir dry ingredients and milk alternatively into butter mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.  Spoon batter over topping in pan. 

Bake cake until top is golden and firm and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 60 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Run small sharp knife around pan sides to loosen cake.  Place platter over pan.  Using oven mitts or pot holders as aid, firmly grasp pan and platter together, then turn over.  Let stand 3 minutes, then gently lift pan off cake.  Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.  

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)