A Plum Good Idea:::Plum Cardamom Coffee Cake

I was browsing the most drool inducing website on the net and came across a recipe for this lovely coffee cake. Plum cake is something of an early fall staple here in Germany so I got totally stoked on this more Americanized version, making a coffee cake. You know I always like to get my bake on and darlings, this one is divine. The sweet and spicy caramelized sauce balanced nicely with my slightly tart pears and the cake... oh the cake! It was moist and light and had a nice balance to it.

No photos of the finished product as it's getting dark earlier and earlier. And flash is not a friend to food photography. Want the recipe? Just go ahead and continue reading...


CARDAMOM PLUM UPSIDE-DOWN COFFEE CAKE

FOR SAUCE:

• 3 tablespoons melted butter
  
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
  
• 15-18 small-medium plums such as Italian, quartered
  

FOR CAKE:

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1/2 cup orange juice

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line with parchment paper a 9” or 10” round tall cake pan.
  
• SAUCE: In a small bowl combine sauce ingredients (melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ground cardamom) and cover the base of the cake pan using a pastry brush. Starting from the outside perimeter and working your way towards the center, line your cake pan with quartered plums.
  
• CAKE: Combine flour through salt in a bowl, set aside. In a medium-large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light – approx. 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla. Gradually flour mixture and orange juice to butter mixture, alternating. Mix well for 3 minutes scraping the sides and bottom down half way through. Add cake batter to the top of plum pan and spread the batter evenly.
  
• Bake for 1 hour or until done. When cake is done, allow the cake to sit on the countertop for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides of the pan with a knife and flip it onto a plate. Remove parchment paper. Serve warm or room temperature. Enjoy!

The recipe was originally found HERE.