SuperSimple Recipes
Italian Prune Coffee Cake
From the recipe box of travel writer Carole Terwilliger Meyers.
This delicious prune cake is similar to one my Mom used to make every fall, when Italian prunes became available. Her recipe used yeast, which made it even more delicious, but this is a nice compromise that I developed. I’ve seen French prune plums and even just regular purple plums in the produce section that look like they would work well, too. And I haven’t tried it yet, but I saw a similar recipe that instead of all flour used 1/3 cup cornmeal and 2/3 cup flour, giving it a slight crunch. Additionally, it placed the plum halves skin side up, which I think might provide more color.
¾ cup sugar
½ cup butter, soft
Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl.
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
pinch of salt (optional)
Add and beat well. Spoon the batter into a 9-inch spring-form pan.
12 Italian prunes, pitted and cut in half
Place plum halves skin side down on top of the batter.
sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon
Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle on about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon if you wish.
350 degrees, 1 hour. Cool.
Serves 8.
(www.berkeleyandbeyond2.com; copyright Carole Terwilliger Meyers)