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!
