Plum Cake Served in the Last Chapter of Adelaide
Adelaide is a romantic comedy I wrote years ago for my teenage daughter. I figured it would never see the light of day because the characters in it our members of my faith (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly referred to as Mormons) and in my experience the only books I read with members of my church are either critical or preachy.
I wanted to write a book in which they are just people. So I wrote this frothy romance about a bunch of moms in a book club trying to play matchmakers. My daughter loved it. Then I let another friend read it. And another.
Soon I had friends telling me they’ve read Adelaide multiple times. One told me she reads it as a palate cleanser between heavy and depressing books because it’s such a heartwarming story.
One reviewer wrote:
This is the sweetest story of love at first sight derailed by so many well intentioned people I’ve ever read. Sometimes you read a book that’s so good it gives you the warm and fuzzies and you find yourself grinning at it like a lunatic. This was me the entire time I read it!!
If that sounds like your sort of book, you can get Adelaide for free.
The plum cake pictured above is served in the epilogue at book club. It is a variation of the New York TImes Plum Torte. A recipe that the New York Times ran each September for 1983-1989. When the paper announced that they were going to print it for the last time. They got a slew of angry letters from readers. They now make sure the recipe is available to subscribers year round. As a side note: I love NYT recipes. They are all so good and if you don’t subscribe, you really should.
Below is my variation on the classic cake. If you go to the the New York Times you will find a myriad of variations of this simple but delicious cake. You can’t go wrong with this plum cake. Have it for breakfast, or for an afternoon snack or as they do in Adelaide, serve it at book club.
NYT Classic Plum Cake
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar (plus more for dusting)
1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt (optional)
2 eggs
2-3 plums cut in 1-inch chunks
Sugar and lemon juice for topping
Heat oven to 350º
Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.
Spoon the batter into a springform pan of 8, 9 or 10 inches. Place the plum pieces skin side up on top of the batter. ( It will look like you have too many plums. But See the photo below. But you can fit in more than you think.)
4. Sprinkle lightly with lemon juice and sugar. (And if you forget this step like I do every other time. Don’t sweat it. It will still be amazing.)
5. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Remove. Serve warm and plain or with whipped cream.
