Plum Coffee Cake (a non-Maida recipe)

 

This is not a Maida Heatter recipe but it turned out so good, I wanted to share. I could not find any recipes in Maida's books for plums. A member of the family who owns the nursery where I work has a fantastic vegetable garden and he brings wonderful things (corn!) in to share with employees. It is the time of year for these delicious plums and he has presented us with two boxes full during the past two weeks. A customer and I were discussing them and she shared this recipe. It is wonderful and I would think that you could substitute apples, peaches or just about any fruit if you don't have plums.

Cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. lemon zest

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (softened)

2 large eggs

8-10 plums (about 1 lb.), pitted and sliced

Streusel Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (softened)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper. Spray or butter the paper and the sides of the pan.

 

Whisk together the flour and the baking powder in a mixing bowl.

On low speed, add the sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest. Beat for 2 minutes until well combined.

The batter will be sticky. Carefully spread it over the bottom of the springform pan. (I find that coating a spatula with cooking spray helps).

Arrange the sliced plums over the dough in a spiral pattern. Set aside.

 

 

Make the streusel topping:

In a mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter and beat until it becomes crumbly.

Spread the topping evenly over the plums.

 

 

Bake for 45-50 minutes. If the top hasn't browned, turn the oven to the broiler setting for 5 more minutes.

After removing from the oven, let it sit on a wire rack for 15 minutes before running a knife around the perimeter of the pan and releasing the sides. Cool completely.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Palm Beach Chocolate Layer Cake

 

Palm Beach Chocolate Layer Cake
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 50.

This is a dense cake with a strong chocolate flavor but not too sweet. The icing is hard and thick and is delicious (be aware that the icing is made with raw eggs). It was just a tad dry and I'm wondering if the oven temperature was reduced to 350 instead of 375 might help. The baking time is only 25-30 minutes.

On the next page of "Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts" is "Palm Beach Tube Cake" and I'm curious how it compares to this one. It is made with white sugar (a whopping 2 cups) instead of brown sugar.

This is a rich cake and a small piece goes a long way. It is fantastic with milk or ice cream.

 

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 cup boiling water

Preheat the oven to 375 (although I will try 350 the next time I bake this). Butter or spray two round 9-inch pans and dust with dry bread crumbs.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Set aside to cool.

Sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

Beat the butter until softened and add the vanilla.

 

Gradually add the sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix well.

Beat in the eggs...

 and the melted chocolate. Mix well.

Add half of the flour (set the mixer at the lowest speed - this is going to be a very thin mixture)

Then add the boiling water -

Then add the remaining half of the flour. Mix well, scraping the bowl and beaters as necessary to fully incorporate.

The batter is very thin and liquid-y. Divide between the two pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake comes away from the sides of the pan and springs back when touched. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Wait until the cakes are completely cool before making the icing. The icing sets up quickly and has to be applied to the cake immediately after it is prepared.

Filling & Icing

5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 oz. butter
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2 eggs
1 TBS. hot water
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Place the chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan and melt over very low heat. Stir constantly as it melts.

Transfer the melted chocolate to a mixer bowl and add the remaining ingredients all at once.

Beat at low speed until everything is incorporated then increase the speed to high. Beat until smooth.

Immediately spread a layer of filling over the bottom cake layer. Top with the second layer and ice the top and sides of the cake.