I made this cake for the first time last fall at the very tail end of peach and plum season, and it was divine. And I wanted to share it with you, dear readers, right away, but I knew that wouldn't be fair. It simply would not do this cake justice to make it with out-of-season, supermarket fruit.
But now that local peaches and plums are plentiful, it's time.
If you don't have both, use one or the other. If you can get your hands on good apricots, use them. (Although I've never seen locally grown apricots for sale.)
The cake portion of this recipe may be familiar to many of you as I've written about it and its many variations before. This time, I reduced the butter just a touch and added the luscious fruits. The juicy stone fruits require a longer baking time; if you find your cake is browning too quickly, it may help to reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
I know — turning on the oven right now sounds unbearable, but this cake is worth it. Bake it early in the morning and reward yourself with dessert in the evening.
It doesn't need it, but you won't be sorry if you serve this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
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Peach and Plum Frangipani
- 8 tablespoons butter, softened, plus more for coating pan
- 3/4 cup PLUS 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, divided use
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup almond flour/meal
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 to 4 small peaches and plums, halved or quartered and pitted, but not peeled
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the bottom and sides of an 8-inch cake pan or springform pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, then slowly add the almond and all-purpose flours and blend well.
Pour batter into the prepared pan. Nestle the peaches and plums, skin side down, into the batter.
Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until golden brown and set.
Remove from oven, sprinkle top with the remaining granulated sugar and cool.
Makes 1 (8-inch) cake.