Almond Butter Cake with Cardamom and Baked Plums

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For Baked Plums
• 1 lb. 7 oz. whole red plums
• 1/2 C. dry white wine
• 1/2 C. plus 2 t. granulated sugar
• 10 cardamom pods (roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar) or 1 t. cardamom powder
• 1/4 t. ground cinnamon
• 1 long strip of orange peel
• 1/2 C. water
For Cake
• 8 oz. almond paste (broken into 4 or 5 pieces)
• 1 C. granulated sugar
• 1 C. plus 1 1/2 T. unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• Finely grated zest of one large orange (about 1 T.)
• 3/4 t. ground cardamom (freshly ground if possible)
• 6 large eggs (room temperature)
• 1/8 t. almond extract
• 1 C. plus 1 T. all-purpose flour
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for topping

Instructions

To prepare the plums:
1. To bake the plums, wash plums and remove stems. Leave plums whole (but remember to warn your guests that the stones are still in the baked plums). Put plums in an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. Make the poaching liquid for the plums. Put white wine, sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, orange peel and water into a saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. When the poaching liquid boils, remove it from the heat and pour it over the plums. Cover the plums tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees F. for 20-40 minutes. The timing depends upon the size of the plums. When cooked you want the plums to be soft but whole. When baked, set the plums aside. You can serve them at room temperature but I liked them a whole lot better warm.
To prepare the cake:
3. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
4. Use a 9-inch bundt pan for this recipe. Prepare the pan by greasing it carefully to ensure that your cake comes out cleanly.
5. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, put the almond paste pieces into the mixer along with the sugar and beat the mixture for about three minutes at low speed. Add the room-temperature butter, orange zest and ground cardamom and continue to beat the mixture. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time to the almond paste mixture. Stop occasionally and scrape down the sides of your mixer bowl. Beat after each egg addition until the egg is well incorporated into the batter. Add almond extract and mix.
6. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt together. Then, mix the sifted dry mixture to the almond paste/egg batter until the dry ingredients are just mixed (low speed on your mixer). Do not overmix here.
7. Spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees F. When you cake is done, you will be able to insert a skewer in the center of the cake and have the skewer come out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a cake plate.
8. This cake can be served warm or at room temperaure. You can either break up some of the baked plums and spoon them over the cake (with some of their juices) or you can serve a whole baked plum beside the slice of cake. Remember to warn your guests that the stones are still in the plums!
9. I served this with whipped cream but it would be wonderful served with vanilla ice cream. (See Easiest Vanilla Ice Cream recipe on Blue Cayenne. http://bluecayenne.com/easiest-vanilla-ice-cream). Sprinkle a bit of extra granulated sugar over the plums if you wish.

Pozole

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 15-oz. can cannellini beans
• 1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 C. chopped yellow onions
• 2 C. chopped seeded poblano peppers
• 3 large cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1 T. ancho chile powder
• 2 t. dried oregano
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 6 C. vegetable broth
• 1 1/4 C. canned hominy (rinsed)
• 6 T. prepared tomatillo salsa
• 1 T. lime juice
• 1/4 t. salt
• Garnish of sliced radishes, parsley leaves, thinly-sliced cabbage, cherry tomatoes, sour cream or yogurt, paprika or cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and saute yellow onions and poblano peppers in hot oil until they are tender. This will take 4-5 minutes. Add chopped garlic and saute for 1 more minute being careful not to burn the garlic. Stir chili powders, oregano and cumin to the mixture and cook for 1 more minute.
2. Add the broth and the hominy to the pan and simmer over low heat for an hour or longer. (I found that my soup was better on the second day. As it is with so many soups, the flavors were stronger.)
3. When you are ready to serve the soup, stir in the salsa, lime juice and salt. Garnish the soup with sliced cabbage, sour cream or yogurt, radishes, cherry tomatoes, parsley or cilantro and a sprinkling of paprika (or cayenne). Enjoy.

Mango Lassi Frozen Yogurt

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 ripe medium-size mangoes (peeled and diced)
• 1 1/2 C. full-fat plain yogurt
• 1 C. half and half
• 1 C. sugar
• 1/2 t. grated lime zest (from one lime or to your taste)
• Juice of 2 limes (to taste)
• Kosher salt (to taste)
• Diced fresh mango, fresh raspberries and additional lime zest for garnish

Instructions

1. Puree mangoes in processor until very smooth. You need about 1 1/2 C. puree for this recipe.
2. Put mango puree, yogurt, half and half, sugar and lime zest into a large bowl and whisk until combined. Whisk the mixture long enough that the sugar dissolves in the liquids and is not gritty. Gradually add the lime juice and kosher salt to the mixture to your taste. (I added the juice of both small limes and a good pinch of kosher salt to my batter.)
3. Chill the batter and then churn it in the ice cream maker of your choice. Once it is churned, store the frozen yogurt in an airtight container in your freezer for 3 o 4 hours before serving. If the frozen yogurt is very hard when you are ready to serve it, let it sit on your counter to soften.
4. Serve garnished with diced fresh mango, fresh raspberries and more lime zest. (The fresh raspberries are spectacular with this dish.)

Nutrition

Calories

375 cal

Fat

25 g

Carbs

43 g

Protein

7 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info