It's been a good summer. Full of ocean walks, harbour swims, stone fruit and of course, cake. And when that cake is made with summer fruit, and eaten outside then it's a win-win-win. Though I've misleadingly pictured apricots above (because how could I not when they're this beautiful?), the cake above left is a plum cake. And a famous one at that. From 1982-89, Marian Burros' recipe was printed each summer in The New York Times. Despite a warning from editors and a final printing of the recipe in large print with a border to encourage clipping, when it didn't appear the following year the newspaper's readers rioted. Ever since, it has been a perennial recipe on its pages. I can see why. A base of pale, buttery cake rises up around dark fruit that transforms in the baking into perfectly sour-sweet pockets of jam. It looks and tastes like something you've picked up at a patisserie when really all you did was potter around in your kitchen for fifteen minutes one morning before heading out for a swim.
This weekend I was in Hobart. With two of my oldest, dearest friends. We walked, we talked... we ate. And returned to our respective mainland capitals with our bags stuffed with cherries. The markets were overflowing with them - fat and juicy, sweet, dark and freshly picked. When I got home I tumbled them into an ovenproof dish, poured over a quickly whisked batter and thirty minutes later a creamy, pillowy flan formed around the fruit. Clafoutis (clah-fou-tee) is a traditional French dessert. It's simple (you don't even have to pit the cherries), sweet (in both senses of the word) and every spoonful back in Sydney reminds me of my friends, how we met (studying French at university) and a wonderful Tasmanian weekend.
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Side note: to any readers who are reading this via Bloglovin' - for some reason, last week's post did not show up there, so if you don't want to miss out on the seriously delicious Persian love cake, click here to read all about it.
As the name suggests, this is a cake to make you swoon. Almond meal is the cornerstone ingredient, cleverly incorporated into the two different textures - a crunchy, caramelly base and a smooth, tangy torte laced with nutmeg and studded with pistachio. If that sounds complicated, trust me, it's not.
No need for food processors, all you need is a bowl and a wooden spoon. It takes less than ten minutes to make, and about half an hour to bake. The most difficult part about the whole process is waiting for it to cool to room temperature to eat.
It's like a cheesecake, without the bricks of cream cheese, bought biscuits or complicated water baths. It's simple, sophisticated and incredibly, gluten-free. Make it. Fall in love. What better way to start the new year.
