11.26.2011

Damson Plum Cake


Aha! You probably thought this cake was going to use fresh plums. So did I when I first saw the title. But surprise...it uses plum jam. And it's yet another seasonal cake with lovely fall flavors. It was created by Bill Yosses as the cake version of Sticky Toffee Pudding, a British favorite. I wish you could have smelled this while baking....warm spices wafting through the house. The cake calls for some tart dried cranberries and the plum jam melts into sticky pockets while baking; the walnuts add a lovely crunch.



Damson Plum Cake
From The Perfect Finish by Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark


Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup damson plum jam

Method:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 by 5 loaf pan with some canola oil and sprinkle a bit of flour over it. (I lined it with parchment paper as well and then greased the paper. The jam is likely to stick to the pan if you don't.)
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and salt.
In your mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until combined. Add the canola oil. Slowly beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the buttermilk. With a spatula fold in the cranberries and walnuts. Swirl in the jam in three to four strokes. (This is important because you want the cake to have sticky pockets of jam.) Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a cake testor comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 25 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack. Allow to cool for 5 minutes or so, then serve warm. This cake lasts a week well covered.



34 comments:

  1. A fabulous cake! I love damsons and generally freeze them...

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Oh wow. I'm not a big plum fan, but that sounds worth trying.

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  3. Hi Barbara,

    I love sticky toffee pudding and this would be a nice twist with the plum jam. As for all the spices, I am sure the smell coming from your kitchen would have been divine. Your neighbours must be tempted to knock on your door for a visit.

    Happy weekend
    Hugs
    Carolyn

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  4. Sticky toffee pudding is hands down my favourite British dessert, so to say that this quick bread has a similar flavour makes me want to bake one right up... despite my recent baking disaster :D
    Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
    *kisses* HH

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  5. What a great use for a jar of jam! I will try that.

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  6. I love the idea of little bursts of jam hidden throughout. Tis the season to begin the holiday baking, eh?

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  7. Jam cakes:) Thank you..I will try this one day..My husband is so fond of these.

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  8. Now this looks FABULOUS, Barbara! I tried making a plum pudding once and failed to no end! I had all the right tools and ingredients, but somehow the recipe got lost in translation from one era and culture to another!!!
    But this recipe looks as if it will fulfill my curiousity and love for plums!!!

    Thank you dearest for stopping by; yes, this time of year is rather NOISY with commercialism and stress. I want to focus on the love of friends and family and hopefully, I will be able to HEAR what it's all about....

    LOVE! Anita

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  9. How remarkably wise to include the jam in the bread! When you started by saying there weren't fresh plums I thought... well then they would be prunes! DUH forgot the jam-life of the fruit.

    I used to get damson plum jam from a lady at the farmer's market... but have been overloaded with my own jam so I have a lockdown on any more jammy products till I work down the pantry shelf. I have a good reason to break my vow with this recipe... NUM!

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  10. I love cakes and things that heavily scent the house while they bake, it makes all the effort worthwhile. This looks amazing.

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  11. I sounds like the perfect bread for this time of year and with the plums jam, cranberries and walnuts, one that I know I'd love. It sounds delicious!

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  12. This is our kind of cake, perfect for afternoon tea with our without cream!

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  13. The flavor must have been really delicious!

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  14. I really enjoy these types of fruit/jam cakes. I can imagine the warm smells that wafted through your home. Delicious.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

    Velva

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  15. That sounds really delicious. I'm hoping to try a few recipes from that cookbook, and now I'll add this one to the list!

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  16. plum jam melts into sticky pockets...yeah that got me drooling...smiles.

    hope you had a great thanksgiving as well!

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  17. Mmm, I can almost smell those intoxicating spices from that lovely loaf. Especially at this time of year, I can't get enough of baked goods loaded with cinnamon and nutmeg. ;)

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  18. looks great and your right it is a British classic :-)

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  19. I actually think that I like the sound of this better because the jam and the nuts would go so well together! Lovely looking recipe Barbara :)

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  20. How utterly delicious with those lovely pockets of jam hiding inside! Perfectly fitting for the season!

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  21. I love plums.

    I hate to beg, but will you vote for my book?

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  22. Barbara, I love the dollops of jam you've tucked into this cake. It really sounds scrumptious and demands to be tried. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  23. What a stunning cake, Barbara! It truly feels special enough for a special occasion. Now to get my hands on some of that fabulous jam... :)

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  24. this is gorgeous. i've never baked with plums, but i have no doubt it's wonderful!

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  25. Plum cake using jam with a flavour like Sticky Toffee Pudding. What could be more delicious? GG

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  26. This sounds delicious! I wonder if I could substitue a different jam, maybe gooseberry for instance? Must experiment ASAP :)

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  27. I love baking with jam, and this plum cake looks and sounds wonderful with those sticky pockets of jam.

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  28. i don't think i've ever seen plum jam, but i'd love it! the little pockets of the stuff just explode in your cake. :)

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  29. This looks delicious! I don't think I've ever heard of damson plums. My parents used to make homemade plum jam every year before my dad chopped down their plum tree. :( I wonder if other jams will work with this.

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  30. Another stellar dessert. Looks wonderful!

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  31. I love that this calls for jam, because I've been having a hard time finding any plums lately! This sounds wonderful, and I can imagine how good it smelled!

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  32. I'm sure that I'd love this cake!!!! I'm drooling just thinking about it.

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  33. I'll take elegant chocolatey cookies anyday!

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  34. I have baked lots of cakes, pies, and other pastries in my life. I have much respect for Mr. Yosses, and the recipe sounded very good. However, by the end of following the recipe precisely (measurements, ingredients, and procedure) as it is printed in the book, I had my suspicions that this recipe has something wrong with it.

    I won't waste the time to remake the cake to discern the problem, but I am skeptical of the quantity of 1 cup of damson plum jam (along with 1 cup of sugar called for in the recipe). This "cake" was unbearably sweet and gooey - far beyond any similarity to English sticky pudding.

    There isn't even a photo of the finished baked good in the book to compare. Although this sounds delicious (and smelled good from the oven), I would never recommend this recipe.

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