See Notes below for an update using sour cherries - I now make this with other seasonal fruits as well, so no need to wait for plum season. (Scroll down to see how fab it looks with sour cherries.)
This recipe is directly from ‘More Food That Really Schmecks’ by Edna Staebler (1979). It is an absolute favourite in the KB kitchen, and plum season cannot pass without it appearing. (Freeze plums that have been cut in half and make this all year round!)
This looks more like a traditional coffee cake when made in a 9-10" round pan (I use a spring-form). By "traditional" I mean a good 1.5-2" base of cake with the plums on top. But... I often make two smaller cakes using 8" spring form pans. It technically enables me to use more plums, and it's an extra cake that I can "gift" to friends or family (or freeze). Note also that using a 10” pan enables you to use more fruit on a thinner cake - in some ways that’s preferable.
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Prepare / grease (or butter) cake pan – 9” x 9” square; or one 9-10 “ round; or 2 smaller 8" round pans. (I like to use spring-form pans.)
Bring eggs, butter for cake, milk and plums to room temperature.
Separate 2 eggs.
Sift together dry ingredients.
Measure out 1/2 cup milk
Prepare plums by cutting them in half and removing the pit - use enough plums to cover the surface of the cake(s); see Notes re preparing other fruit that can be used for this cake
Prepare crumb topping - NOTE that I tend to do only half the recipe for this.
Crumb Topping (all or half?)
½ cup brown sugar
2 TB flour
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup butter (cold)
(Note - lately I have begun to cut this in half; the brown sugar blobs can hide the beautiful colour of the fruit you are using. The taste does not seem to suffer and if you feel the need to add some sweetness - then do the final step of an icing sugar glaze.) Use fork to combine into crumbs for cake topping. Even though using cold butter, this might become "blobby", so make it first and refrigerate until needed. Once cool again it is easier to crumble and spread evenly.
Batter step 1. Beat 2 egg whites to soft, peaks - set aside for a moment until the step when you incorporate this into the creamed batter.
Batter step 2.
¼ cup butter (room temp)
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
Cream together butter, sugar and egg yolks. If this doesn’t come together as a creamy mixture, add a wee bit of the milk that will be used in the next step.
Batter step 3.
1.5 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup milk
Sift together dry ingredients.
Add milk to creamed mixture (as in step 2 above), alternating with dry ingredients.
Batter step 4. Fold egg whites into mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place plums neatly on top with cut side down. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake in 350F-degree oven for about 45 minutes. (40 minutes is enough if using two smaller round pans.) A toothpick inserted into a section of cake that popped up between plums should come out clean. If it’s not clean at the 45-minute mark add another 5 minutes.
Optional Glaze: Blend together 3/4 cups icing sugar, 1 TB cream or milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract. (in truth, I have never bothered with these extra calories... though I suppose it would make it look even prettier.)
Notes and Tips...
Same recipe with Sour Cherries
How much fruit - Edna never specified, stating only to cover the cake. As I have said, I use even more than she might have since I usually make two smaller rounds. Here's a tip. Before greasing / buttering the pan you are using, prep the fruit and create a layer on the bottom of the pan. Dump it into another container until needed and then grease / butter the baking pan.
Plums - if using frozen plums, defrost them first on paper towels - this will absorb extra moisture.
Variations - recently I began to make this as a rhubarb cake. I covered the batter with rhubarb cut into 1/2" pieces and then, just to pretty it up, poured about 1/4 cup of melted strawberry or raspberry (red) jam over the rhubarb before sprinkling with crumble. A big hit - and now I plan to try this with every fruit that comes along! Update - peaches work great! I have now also made this with sour cherries (that had been frozen). I thawed the cherries in a colander over a bowl so that excess juice would drain off. I ended up with about two cups of cherries on a cake baked in a 10" round.
Make fresh - we all know that fruit coffee cakes are ideal when they are fresh. Everything for this can be prepped ahead of time - the crumble topping can even be made the day before. Then it comes together quickly, is baking while guests arrive, and by the time everyone is settled you have a gorgeous fresh, still warm coffee cake. Enjoy!
Prep Ahead - you could make the crumb topping, and cut up the plums the day before.
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