Blueberry Muffin Loaves
There are few things better than a warm blueberry muffin and a hot cup of tea in the early morning drowsiness of waking up. This is a very good muffin. Actually, it is a small loaf, baked in my small loaf pan shown below. My…
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Tomato and Basil Fried Rice
Love fried rice? I certainly do. This fried rice recipe just might tickle your taste buds. The New York Times Food Section featured a recipe for Tomato and Basil Fried Rice by cookbook author Hetty McKinnon this week. McKinnon is the author of a number…
A Very Fine Plum Cake
This Zoe Francois plum cake is absolutely wonderful. In the introduction to the recipe, she writes that this plum cake is her favorite cake in her cookbook, Zoe Bakes Cakes. (There are some outstanding cakes in that cookbook, by the way! So, that’s high praise for this cake.)
Don’t get me wrong. Marion Burros’ famous plum cake is still the GOAT. (You can find that recipe here.)
Burros’ legendary cake was featured here back in 2015. Burros, a food columnist for the NY Times, originally published her recipe in the food section of that paper in 1982. The recipe was so well-received by Times readers that its publication became a food section tradition every plum season for many years. People still talk about Burros’ plum cake in reverential terms.
Here is a photo of the beautiful Burros cake we baked back in 2015 (and many many times since). 
Francois’ recipe, however, rivals the Burros’ cake in my opinion. The crumb of her cake is tender and oh-so-flavorful with its mixture of all-purpose white flour, wheat flour and almond flour. Burros’ plum cake doesn’t incorporate a mixture of flours and I think those inclusions distinguish Francois’ cake from Burros’. Don’t get me wrong. One cake is not better than the other; they are just wonderfully different.
There is, of course, that old saying about not messing with perfection (the Burros’ plum cake, in this case). So, what I suggest is that you stay open to the fact that there can be two really really wonderful plum cakes. Heck, why not do a baking test to check this out. Make both cakes! Invite your friends and family. Do a taste-off. It will be a win-win and both cakes will disappear as you and your guests taste-compare over and over and over…just to be sure, of course.
You can find this recipe in Francois’ cookbook Zoe Bakes Cakes. You can find the book through your local bookstore or at Amazon here.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Plum Cake
July 31, 2024
Ingredients
- For The Cake
- 10 T. unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 C. granulated sugar
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- 1/2 C. whole milk (room temperature)
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1 C. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 C. almond flour
- 1/4 C. whole wheat flour
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1/4 t. kosher salt
- 4-6 plums quartered
- Topping
- 2 T. granulated sugar
- 1/4 t. ground cinnamon
- 2 T. unsalted butter (cold, in cubes)
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Step 2 Prepare a 9-in springform pan by spraying it with cooking spray AND lining it with parchment paper which you also spray with cooking spray.
- Step 3 Put butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract in the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix to combine and mix until the mixture is smooth.
- Step 4 Add all-purpose, almond and whole wheat flour to the butter mixture. Add baking power and kosher salt. Mix a few times until the batter is just mixed and there is no evidence of dry patches in the batter.
- Step 5 Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan, smoothing the top with an off-set spatula. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to be sure there are no air bubbles in the batter.
- Step 6 Arrange the plum slices on top of the cake in a spiral pattern.
- Step 7 Bake cake for 45 minutes in a 375 degree F. oven.
- Step 8 To make the topping for the cake stir sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.
- Step 9 Once the cake has baked for 45 minutes, remove it from the oven and sprinkle the sugar-cinnamon mixture over the cake. Scatter the butter cubes across the top of the cake. Bake for another 20 minutes. Your cake is done when a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Step 10 Remove cake from oven and let it cool on your counter. Remove the sides of the springform pan, place the cake on a serving dish and serve. This cake is great alone with a cup of tea. It can also be served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
It’s Plum Season!!! Plum, Rum and Raisin Conserve
It’s plum season. How great is that? Plums are my favorite stone fruit. This season I was fortunate to get a large bag of home-grown plums from my friend Karen. (Karen is also the adored dog walker for Blue Cayenne’s Chief Taster and Chief Quality…
A Culinary Walk Down Memory Lane: Wedge Salad
Remember the 1970s with its leisure suits, lava lamps, and platform shoes? (I saw a 60-something lady today at the local Sprouts Market teetering along in jeans and sky-high platform shoes! Whoa.) Foodwise, I remember those wonderful wedge salads served with generous dollops of roquefort…
Oldies But Goodies: Turkish White Beans
Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is forTurkish White Beans. You’ll find the recipe here.
Want to dive deeper into our recipe archive? Just click one of the categories at the top of this page or use the category search drop down menu on the right side of this page.
And…here is a link to Blue Cayenne’s main page: Blue Cayenne..If you are in the mood to cook (or eat!), we hope you will take a moment to look at the many excellent recipes we have featured.
Zucchini Casserole Widmer
This is a recipe for Zucchini Casserole Widmer. Who in the heck was Widmer? I found this recipe deep in the pages of my recipe collection. I haven’t made it for years but I (rightfully!) remember it fondly. I transcribed it in my handwriting, so…
Chickpea Salad With Fresh Herbs and Scallions
Need a bit of drama at your 4th of July party? This Chickpea Salad With Herbs and Scallions would be perfect. It’s not the traditional Fourth of July potato salad (wonderful as that is!) Instead, it’s a delightful chickpea variation on that traditional salad that…
Coming Up Roses: Strawberry Lime Almond Snacking Cake
A rose is a rose is a… strawberry.
Strawberries, North American natives, are in the rose family. Grown in abundance by North America’s indigenous people, the pretty sweet fruits were part of the Columbian Exchange once European explorers and colonists arrived. Among other crops, Europe got strawberries, tomatoes and potatoes and North America got onions, coffee beans and grapes.
This little Strawberry Lime Almond snacking cake is a beauty. The jammy red strawberry swirls intertwine with the translucent white glaze to make the surface of the cake shine.
This cake recipe is from Yossy Arefi’s Snacking Bakes. You can order the book through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Strawberry Lime Almond Cake
June 27, 2024
Ingredients
- For Cake Batter
- 2 limes
- 3/4 C. plus 2 t. granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 8 T. unsalted butter (melted)
- 1/2 t. fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 C. almond flour
- 1 1/4 C. sliced fresh strawberries
- Lime Glaze
- 3/4 C. powdered sugar
- 3 to 6 t. lime juice
- Pinch of salt
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step 2 Prepare an 8 inch square baking pan by spraying it with cooking stray and then lining it with parchment. Let two edges of the parchment hang over the edge of the pan. This will give you handles to remove the tender cake from the pan after it has cooled.
- Step 3 Zest the two limes and add the zest to 3/4 C. of the the sugar. Rub the sugar and the zest together with your fingers to perfume the sugar. Juice one of the limes and set the juice aside.
- Step 4 Add the eggs to the sugar-lime zest mixture. Whisk until the mixture is pale and foamy. Add the melted butter and salt to the mixture and whisk to combine.
- Step 5 Whisk in the baking powder and the baking soda. Whisk in the almond flour. Whisk in the all-purpose flour.
- Step 6 Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Use an offset spatula to evenly distribute the batter in the pan.
- Step 7 Slice the strawberries and arrange on top of the batter. Sprinkle the remaining 2 t. of granulated sugar on top of the cake.
- Step 8 Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. When your cake is done it should be puffed and golden and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. When your cake is baked, remove it from the oven and let it sit on your counter (in the pan) to totally cool.
- Step 9 Prepare your lime glaze by mixing all the ingredients together. When the cake is totally cool, pour the glaze over the cake and let the cake sit for a while for the glaze to solidify.
- Step 10 Next, lift the cake out of the pan using the “handles” of your parchment paper.
Oldies But Goodies: Neil’s Romaine Salad
Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is for a delightful salad, Neil’s Romaine. You’ll love the garlicky salad dressing. You don’t want to miss this…
