This week I’ve been preparing for an epic road trip through the western U.S., involving a grand total of almost thirty hours of driving (split up over the course of about a week) with my seven year old son. Daddy will join us for the last leg and by then, I’m sure I’ll be more than ready for his help. Heck, I’m always ready for his help!
I haven’t been on a journey like this since my free-spirited early twenties, when I thought nothing of driving from Vermont, all the way down the east coast, over to Texas, through Arizona and California and on up to Seattle where I semi-settled down for three years. Armed with a AAA map, my ornery cat and her four nursing kittens nestled in a box and everything I owned crammed into my tiny Jetta, I fearlessly zipped down the highway jamming out to my favorite tunes on the cassette player (yep, I’m dating myself here). I was exhilaratingly free and life was so full of possibilities.
Along the way, I discovered that America’s beauty is both multifaceted and astounding. I’m so eager to introduce this country to my son, for him to experience the verdant farms stretching from the roadside to infinity, the vastness of the desert sky, and walls of rock carved out of mountainsides edging the curved passes. This time around, Siri is on hand for directions, a rockin’ playlist from Spotify will be streaming and the cooler will be fully stocked with healthy, tasty treats like this plum cake.
We’ve enjoyed delicious affordable organic plums here for the past month and I’ve made this cake several times. It’s not too sweet and has a toothsome crumb thanks to the addition of cornmeal. I used lusciously plump red plums, but any ripe plum will do. If I were serving this to guests, I might add some whipped cream or ice cream. Yum, yum, yum! I would love to hear about the road trips you all are taking this summer, so please share with a comment if you’d like.
Recipe for Plum Cake–Gluten and Dairy Free:
1 c. Gluten-Free Flour blend
1/2 c. organic cornmeal
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. xanthan gum
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. lemon zest
3 med. sized red or black plums (I used red)
2 eggs
1/2 c. coconut oil (melted)
1/2 c. honey
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. So Delicious coconut yogurt
2 T. light brown sugar (for sprinkling over the top)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9″ springform pan with oil of choice. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey, coconut oil, vanilla, yogurt and lemon zest. Slice each plum into 8 wedges. Make a well in the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk the wet mixture into the dry until evenly mixed. Using a spatula, spread cake batter into the springform pan. Place plums in a circular pattern along the outer edge of pan and again in the center. Sprinkle brown sugar all over the top and place in oven. Bake for 28-30 min. The middle will be fairly jiggly until almost the end of baking and then will set up in a flash, so be ready to grab this baby out of the oven before it overcooks! Allow to cool. Best to inhale this within the first 24 hours of baking–after that, freeze for future scrumptiousness.
sagewhisk 