Prune Plum and Walnut Butter Cake
- 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
- 12 prune plums, cut in half and pitted
- 1¼ cups sugar
- ¼ cup brandy
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup ground toasted walnuts
Instructions:
ll the ingredients should be at room temperature except for the butter, which should be a little cooler.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch Spring-form pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter and dust it with 1 tablespoon of the flour.
- Toss the prunes with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the brandy; set aside.
- Cream the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in a large bowl with 1 cup of the sugar, the lemon zest, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Sift the remaining 1 cup flour, the baking powder, and salt together and beat into the creamed butter.
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until they start to foam. Do not over-beat, or the cake will be tough. Add the eggs and ground walnuts to the flour and butter mixture. Mix well.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the plums on top in rings. Sprinkle with any remaining brandy-sugar syrup and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the cake (not the plums) comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the Springform pan and serving.