‘Back-Pocket’ Plum Cake for Holidays — or Anytime
Image by Gayle L. Squires
As the Jewish holidays approach — especially if there’s a lot of entertaining in your future — it’s good to have a few quick, fail-safe, festive dishes in your repertoire. I call them back-pocket recipes. I have one for brisket (cover with tomatoes and onions; cook low and slow for 4 hours) and one for root vegetables (toss with olive oil; roast at high heat until browned and then drizzle with pomegranate molasses for the last few minutes).
And then there’s my back-pocket dessert. It’s a one-bowl, one-spoon cake with endless variations. You make a simple batter, almost like a quick bread (baking powder is the rising agent), with no fancy whipping or folding, and top it with your favorite fruit. To complement the fruit you can add a flavoring — vanilla, rose water, citrus zest — and sprinkle it with a topping — raw sugar, crumbled cookies.
- Get the recipe:
In less than an hour, you’ll pull from the oven a golden-topped, crackly cake punctuated by pieces of fruit that have sunk down a little. Cut into it and you’ll find a dense crumb colored with juices. If you don’t finish it for dessert, it’s equally good as breakfast.
I’ve been trying to come up with a catchy mnemonic so I’d never forget the details of this simple recipe. So far, my best attempt has been counting it out like a bandleader revving up his crew with a few snaps of his finger: a 1, and a 2, and a 1-2-3-4. If you squint and cock your head to the side and use a little imagination, you’ll remember this stands for a one (cup flour), and a two (eggs), and a one-half (cup oil) three-fourths (cup sugar). It’s a bit of a stretch, but once you make it, you’ll never need the recipe again.
The version I share here is perfect this time of year, when plums are in season. I play up the floral aspects of the stone fruit with rose water and balance out the sweetness with a little lime zest. Come Rosh Hashanah, I bake this with apples, vanilla, and a touch of cinnamon, omitting the zest. My mother makes it with peaches and nectarines, and I’ve also tried it with blueberries. This week I plan to halve a bunch of apricots and top the cake with crumbled amaretti cookies.
Gayle Squires is a food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Her path to the culinary world is paved with tap shoes, a medical degree, business consulting and travel. She has a knack for convincing chefs to give up their secret recipes. Her blog is KosherCamembert
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
