Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Cornmeal Olive Oil Cake, with Ugly Green Plums



I feel sorry for these plums, because they most definitely do not deserve the name "ugly green plums."  First of all, I don't find them ugly at all!  And second, whatever they supposedly lack in appearance as compared to, well, more physically attractive plums, they make up for in flavor, for they are sweet and juicy all the way through, with none of that characteristic tartness that most oftentimes plagues plums.  And, just because they're pointy and green doesn't mean you should call them ugly.  I mean, have you not seen Wicked?


And yet, I have no idea what the official variety of these plums are, since the woman who sells them at the farmers' market just labels them (and I'm not exaggerating here) with a large sign that reads "UGLY GREEN PLUMS."  Granted, she does insist that these are her favorite fruit to bring to market, so at least that's something.... Anyways, in an effort to give these plums a better name (PR is everything these days, people), I sliced them up and baked them into a wonderfully moist and yet a tad bit crunchy cornmeal and olive oil cake.  And they were delicious.


I vote it's time to rebrand these beauties with a new name: suggestions, anyone?


In other news, I'm back from Hawai'i and attempting to resist settling back in to a normal routine--of course. :-)  Lots of photos to come, though this might take a little bit....


Read on for recipe....



Ugly Green Plums, Olive Oil, and Cornmeal Cake
cake recipe inspired by David Lebovitz's Ready for Dessert
makes one 9 x 13" cake

2 Tbspn (20 gr) + 3/4 cup (130 gr) stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 cup (140 gr) AP flour
2 tspn baking powder
1 tspn salt
1/2 cup olive oil
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tspn vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup (132 gr) sugar
2/3 cup (~120 gr) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
3-4 small green plums

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x13" baking pan, and dust the insides with 2 Tbspn (20 gr) of cornmeal. If desired, wrap with bake-even strips. Set aside.
2. Whisk to combine the flour, remaining 3/4 cup (130 gr) cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.
4. In a mixer bowl using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Slowly add the egg mixture, a little at a time while still beating. Stir in the flour mixture in two additions, but do not overmix.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Slice the plums and arrange the slices on top of the batter. Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out cleanly. Let cool for 30 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool. Top with powdered sugar, if desired.


Enjoy!

32 comments:

  1. Ugly fruits are sometimes the best... That cake looks wonderful and your pictures are just amazing.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. looks delicious!
    x
    Give Me Truth, Love and Freedom

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  3. I think these are Greengages!  I was literally just about to post a recipe with them in, what a coincidence xXx

    blackberryhorse.blogspot.com

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  4. OMG I love this.  Why are you not in Cleveland feeding me yet?  I also love the recipe on the picture!

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  5. what a rustic and delicious looking cake!  and ugly fruit...i kind of like it better than normal-looking fruit!

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  6. looks delicious! i love your food photography and your recipes...as for renaming the plums: (as you say) Wicked Plums :)

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  7. Look and sounds delicious I love this!! and the pictures amazing! gloria

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  8. If you're taking suggestions for alternate names, I'd like to call them Rustics. "Rustic" was the first adjective that popped into my mind, and another commenter used it above. 

    Lovely, as usual.

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  9. Wicked Plums--I love that!

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  10. I thought Greengages might be a possibility, but I wasn't sure because aren't Greengages extra tart?  These were super sweet!

    And I love your plumble cake. :) Thank you for sharing!

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  11. hey!!!! just found your blog! obsessed :) 

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  12. Beautiful pictures and delicious recipe! I'm looking forward to seeing photos of your Hawaïan adventure, must have been splendid!

    Have a nice week !

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  13. wow, really nice photography! The third picture is like a cooking book :o 

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  14. I love those plums!  They are my favorite, so sweet.  I get them at the farmer's market while I can and stock up making jams and everything I can think of before they disappear.

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  15. I LOVE that you're posting your recipes in the magazine-style format now. Lovely work!

    Perhaps call them...  Beautiful Green Plums?  ;)  I don't find them ugly at all!

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  16. Love Love your blog!  I prefer desserts for breakfast and breakfast for dinner too-:).  

    Renaming Plum suggestions:  1) Plum envy or  2) Plum with envy 

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  17. Beautiful pictures, and I find that if fruits are like men, the ones that know they are good looking turn out to be sour.  :)

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  18. Bonnie-- you win at life for this comment!

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  19. oooh i've never heard of them!  in fact, i don't think i've ever even seen them.  i'll be on the lookout now.

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  20. There is nothing ugly about those plums! Love the first shot :) Hawaii? Photos please

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  21. Very tasty;) Photos looks very good!

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  22. This is kind of like an amped up version of the classic lightening cake I've been making this summer with all kinds of fruit, especially plums.   I've never tried the ugly/wicked plums, now I have to search the farmer's market for them.  The photos are stunning.

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  23. Laura (Blogging Over Thyme)September 14, 2011 at 4:16 PM

    So beautiful!  Even if they called "ugly green plums".  I love how you super-impose the recipe over the photographs.  Can I ask which software you do that with??

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  24. These are actually called Rennes-Claude plums; they're all over France right now and I know just how to use them--in this cake!

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  25. (Actually, is there a way you could delete this comment? I didn't realize signing into my Google account would post my name to the entire internet!)

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  26. Greengages (Reine Claude in my native tongur ;-) ) are really sweet when ripe ...

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  27. I use Illustrator, usually, amongst other Adobe software.

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  28.  Thank you! Mine were super sweet and juicy as well, maybe we just caught them at a good time? Whatever they are, they're gorgeous little plumlets xXx

    blackberryhorse.blogspot.com

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  29. I saw these at the market on Saturday. They were called Reine something. Queen plums! Sounds good to me. :)

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  30. Can I ask what kind of camera you use for these photos?  They are amazing!  Not to mention, the food looks delicious. 

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  31. I use a Nikon D90 for most everything you see here on the site.

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  32. Hmmm very interesting! Never heard of an "ugly green plum" before!

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I love hearing from you and reading your comments! Thanks so much for stopping by the blog. Happy feasting!