Easy Rustic Chestnut Plum Cake

This easy, rustic, one-bowl cake features seasonal plums encased in a lovely batter made with chestnut flour and regular flour, plus other simple pantry and fridge ingredients. Perfect for Fall, it has that cozy feeling of old-fashioned baked goods.

Song of the day: Vagabond - Caamp

Easy and rustic

Simple, rustic, homey desserts are my absolute favorites. And if they feature seasonal fruit, all the better. In the case of this Easy Rustic Chestnut Plum Cake, it also highlights chestnut flour among other ingredients. Sweet, and nutty, it marries beautifully with the plums. Ready to create a Fall stunner?

Ingredients

Other than the chestnut flour, which isn't that hard to find, anyway, this cake hosts pretty basic ingredients. Here is the list, in order of appearance:

• eggs
• cane sugar
• vegetable oil (I used sunflower, but you can use your favorite one)
• milk (I used what I had in the fridge, that is 2% milk, but any milk, also a plant based milk would work)
• all-purpose flour (you can replace it with a g.f. flour blend to make this cake gluten-free)
• chestnut flour (I used one I brought back from Rome from Molino Rossetto)
• baking powder
• cinnamon
• organic plums - black or red plums both work. Pluots would work as well. I'm not sure about prune plums.

Instructions

• Start by washing and slicing three plums, then peel and cube the other. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease a 9-inch round cake pan.
• Then, mix the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl, add the oil, and mix it all together.
• After, add the milk, and blend well.

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• At this point, sift the dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, and cinnamon) in the mixture. You can use a spatula to push down the dry mixture. TIP: Do not skip this step. You will notice that chestnut flour is more clumpy than regular flour (it retains a lot of moisture) and needs to be sifted.
• Next, with a spatula, start mixing the flour in.

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• Mix until you have a somewhat smooth batter, then add the cubed plums. Blend, well, but do not overmix.
• Pour the batter into the greased 9-inch round cake pan.

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Final touches

• Arrange the sliced plums on the batter. Decide how you want your cake to look, or follow my pattern. I arranged them in a circular manner, starting from the edegs, going around, and finally placing the ones in the middle.
• Lastly, sprinkle the top with cane sugar. Be generous, the cake is not too sweet, after all.

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• Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for about 40 minutes. Check it with a cake tester after 35 minutes and if not ready, keep baking longer, 5 minutes at a time, until the tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Every oven is different so it should take from 35 to 45 minutes to bake.
• Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely, then unmold. If you did not use a springform pan, or one with a removable bottom, place a large plate on the top of the cake pan, flip it upside down, so the top of the cake is on the bottom of the plate. Then, gently, place another plate or cake stand on top and flip it again.

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Substitutions

All-purpose flour - since chestnut flour is a gluten-free flour, you can replace the all-purpose flour in the recipe with your favorite g.f. flour blend, thus making this cake gluten-free.

Plums - plums are no longer available? Replace with apples!

The flavor profile

This Easy Rustic Chestnut Plum Cake is incredibly moist and delicate. The color has a beautiful warm hue that totally reflects the flavor. Nutty, mildly sweet, with a sugary crispy top. The plums on top are the star of the show, they just melt in your mouth releasing this richness that pairs well with the simplicity of this cake.

A wonderful bake, perfect from breakfast to dessert. Try it, you won't be disappointed. Plus, it presents beautifully!

More Fall cakes? Try:

• Torta bertolina, italian grape cake
• Dutch apple tart, hollandse appeltaart
• Vegan Plum Rosemary Galette with Olive Oil Crust
• Ciambella dark chocolate, walnut, and pear
• Double chocolate pear cake

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