Jane’s Sweets & Baking Journal -- http://janessweets.blogspot.com--Sept. 2010

Red-Plum Brunch Cake with Cream Cheese Topping

(This recipe has been adapted from the recipe for Italiam Plum-Cream Cheese Cake in Marcia Goldman’s book, A Passion for Baking; Oxmoor House, 2007, pp. 170-171.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" springform pan with baking spray, or lightly grease and very lightly flour the pan.

Ingredients for the cake:

1/2 cup softened butter, unsalted

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, large

1 and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 and 1/4 cups All-Purpose flour (I used unbleached)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt (I used kosher; if you're using regular salt, reduce the amount by a generous pinch)

Ingredients for the filling:

6 medium-size ripe red plums; washed, dried, cut in half, and pitted

5 oz. full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 tsp. lemon extract

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. vanilla extract

To make the cake:

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt with a fork or whisk; set aside.

In the large bowl of a food processor, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs and the vanilla extract, and pulse to blend until the mixture appears smooth.

Take the bowl off the processor, scrape the batter into a medium size mixing bowl, and fold in the dry ingredients.

Spread the batter, which will be soft, into the bottom of the prepared springform pan. You may need to lightly wet your hands and pat the batter into shape with your fingers.

To make the filling:

Place the halved plums cut-side down evenly in the pan over the batter.

In a small bowl, using a whisk or fork, stir together the softened cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and the three extracts. Spread all of this over the top of the cake batter, covering the fruit.

Place the pan on a baking sheet or a sheet of foil; this will help keep the bottom of the cake from over-browning. Bake in a preheated 350 oven until the top begins to look golden, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Let the cake cool in its pan for at least 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around the sides of the cake before attempting to remove the springform. Let the cake finish cooling completely before serving.