Once I start seeing commercials for the U.S. Open, I know summer is slowly coming to a close. It’s been an incredible summer and the weather has been phenomenal. The kids loved summer camp, they learned how to ride bicycles, we explored a couple of East Coast beaches, and while it was incredibly busy, it was also totally relaxing. Here in New Jersey, school starts after Labor Day so we still have a couple of weeks left of summer vacation. At least I have school clothes shopping all done! Thank you Lands’ End.
Today I am honored to have Nancy of gotta get baked as my guest blogger! And yes, more goodies for your sweet tooth and a great way to use your stone fruit bounty. I’ve known Nancy for a couple of years now, but I only met her in person this past July at the Food and Wine Conference in Orlando! She is down-to-earth, fashion savvy, and so very witty! As you may or may not know, I grew up very close to the Canadian border so there is a special place in my heart for Canada. (Anyone remember Video Hits with Samantha Taylor?) So when I found out that Nance was Canadian, I felt like I was reunited with an old friend.
Without further ado…heeeeere’s Nancy!
Hi everybody! I’m Nancy from gotta get baked. I’m a West Coast Canuck and in my spare time, I blog about baking and butter and sugar and flour and all the wonderful things that shorten my lifespan but benefit my mental health.
I feel like I’ve known Amy forever, which is a compliment because up until last month, I’d never met this lady in real life. However, after connecting through our blogs and social media, I know that Ames is a kindred spirit. She gets me. What can I say?
She’s my sista from another mista.
And girl can cook. I wish I lived at her house and could eat all the things, such as her spam ramen burger, fast easy soy chicken ddak bulgogi (fast and easy are my middle names! Errrr…that could totally be construed the wrong way…), and then wash it all down with one of her amazing desserts, like vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered potato chips. Yup. She covered potato chips with chocolate and added it to ice cream. Who does that?! Only someone incredibly talented and brilliant, that’s who.
Like I said above, I actually got to meet Amy last month at the Food & Wine Conference in Orlando, Florida. Amy ‘n I have been a part of the Sunday Supper movement for a few years now. That’s how I was first introduced to her blog. When we met at the Conference, it was like being reunited with a long time friend instead of meeting for the first time. She’s just as fun, sassy, devastatingly intelligent and wickedly witty as her online persona. We got to chat about life, work, the joys ‘n stresses of blogging and our mutual love of food ‘n booze all while guzzling down wine ‘n cocktails ‘n giant head-sized margaritas. Did I mention the lady can drink? I’m in awe of how she handles her liquor (like a champ).
And Ames can do the splits. She dropped down into one right after the Sunday Supper gang took a group photo on Saturday night. With no provocation. Who does that?! Only someone totally cool ‘n awesome (and ridiculously flexible), that’s who.
After the Conference was over, a group of us went out to dinner at an awesome Greek restaurant in Orlando (shout out to Taverna Opa). It was so much fun. The restaurant is like a club. There was a belly dancer, loud ass music and the servers were constantly getting the crowd going by leading us in a giant Greek circle dance all around the restaurant and table dancing. Guess who was totally cutting up the dance floor after dinner was over. Amy’s got some sweet moves.
Now, Ames keeps saying that she can’t bake, which I don’t believe, but let’s humour her. She reached out to a few of her blogging friends, of which I’m honoured to be included, and asked if we could send her some baking guest posts. I was more than happy to oblige.
This has fruit in it so I’m obviously delving into healthy dessert territory.
Since there are so many incredible stone fruits available in the summer, I thought I’d make something lighter than my usual chocolate fare. I saw this gorgeous plum cake from our fellow Sunday Supper member, the lovely and talented Soni of Soni’s Food and I knew that’s what I wanted to bake.
Peach Plum Cake
Ingredients
- CAKE:
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter room temp
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 3 large eggs room temp
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- zest of one orange
- FRUIT TOPPING:
- 3 peaches
- 3 plums
- 3 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Slice the fruit and place in a bowl. You can remove the skin of the fruit if you like. Add the sugar and carefully fold the fruit to coat all the slices with sugar. Set aside while you make your batter.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a nine inch cake pan or baking pan lined with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large with an electric hand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla. Add half of the flour mixture, then the sour cream, followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Mix just until the ingredients are combined. The batter will the thick.
- Spread the batter into your cake pan and smooth with top with a rubber spatula or knife. Arrange the slices of fruit however you like over top. I alternated the peach and plum slices in circles.
- Bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least half an hour before removing.
- This is a lovely any-time kind of cake. The fruit becomes velvety smooth and is the perfect textural and flavour compliment to the spicy, subtly-sweet cake. I find this cake is best on the day it’s made but it will keep for a day in an air-tight container at room temperature. I’m paranoid about moldy food so I placed the cake into the fridge after a day or two. It’s still delicious eaten cold or you can pop it into the microwave or toaster oven to warm up.
Ames, thanks so much for having me here! I mean it when I say that meeting you at the Conference was a highlight for me. I wish we lived closer to each other – I’d bake, you’d cook, we’d both eat and get fat together! It’d be glorious!
Oh geez…I still haven’t started my school shopping but something about moving two states away might have something to do with that. Many schools here in California have already started two weeks ago so I was a little surprised to learn that my daughter’s new school doesn’t start until after Labor Day too. Meeting you and Nancy was one of the highlights of my #FWCon experience because I enjoy you two ladies’ blogs so much.
As usual, your standard of baking is excellent!
I learned to shop early for school clothes after we moved to NJ from SF. After living in SF for several years and not having to buy any winter clothes for the kids, I didn’t think to buy, let alone even look at, winter coats. My son was enrolled in preschool and for the first couple of weeks of cold weather, I am sure I got some side-eye when he was just dressed in a fleece…no hat and no mittens. I scoured the internet and local stores, but it was slim pickins’. Out of desperation, I finally got him an overpriced and oversized coat for that season.
Lesson learned. Now I buy winter clothes in late summer.
It was awesome to finally meet you last month!
Hey Ames, thanks so much for inviting me to Kimchi Mom! It was a blast guest posting for you. I meant every word I wrote about you here and it makes me sad that we’re on opposite coasts of the continent! Enjoy the rest of your week, lady. It’s almost the weekend – woot woot!
Nancy, love love love the peach and plum cake! love how the fruit slices sit on top and have sunken in ever so slightly. . beautiful! And Amy, girl. . dancing and the splits?! I can’t believe I missed that! and this gorgeous cake means you gotta start baking more now!! We’re calling you out! 😛 love you guys!
You missed a big party this summer! 🙂 i MAY do a little baking, but it will all be savory!
OMG, love that it has cardamom and whole wheat flour! Going to my pinterest board asap!
I love the spices in this cake also!
Fast and easy, huh Nancy? Does Tony know you’re telling the internet this? Ha. Anyway, I love both you ladies and am so glad I got to meet you both at the conference. It was definitely the highlight of my summer! Any tips for slicing peaches and plums? I don’t eat many of them, and always have a hard time getting nice slices while working around the pit.
Hey Lori! Yeah…I REALLY need to think before I type. As for slicing, I use a hella sharp knife and very ripe fruit. If the slices don’t just fall off the pit, I slice it off. No biggie if it doesn’t look perfect.
Ahhh…my problem is probably that my knives are dull as all hell. Yes, the same chick that constantly lectures friends that “a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife” has dull knives. Sigh.
So glad I met you in this summer!
After I sharpen my knives, I always tell myself that I should do it again in another month or so. 11 months go by when I finally get to it again! It’s one of those simple tasks that I just keep putting off. For me, it’s that and maintaining my cutting board.
Yeah, I get my knives sharpened about once a year by this guy at my farmer’s market with this huge spinning stone thing. I always tell myself that I’m going to keep the blades up with my steel at home. That lasts….about one week.
Ames, I could’ve swore I wrote you a comment when this post was published! I wanted to say thank you so much for having me here. I’ve always been a huge fan of your blog and am honoured you asked me to guest post. Can’t wait until we meet up again and party in person, woot woot!
I thought you had a comment also! My Disqus had been acting funny earlier this week so something may have happened. Anyway, this whole guest posting thing has been fun…I will try to do more of these in the future!! Like I said, give me a ring-a-ling when you’re in my neck of the woods! Thanks again for a great post!