Brown Butter Plum Cake

It’s not often that I see a recipe, print it off and then make it immediately. But when I saw Julie’s post on what she has called Browned Butter Bliss, I was intrigued.

Not only had she raved about this baked dessert, but it sounded delicious and ridiculously easy. If that doesn’t tempt someone (namely me) to try it out, what will?

Brown Butter Plum Cake

Plus, making such a fantastic looking dessert also meant I would have to purchase a pie plate. Any excuse to buy new kitchen goodies! Of course, now I might actually have to learn how to make pie.

A cake/cobbler type of dessert, its flavour is heightened by browning the butter before making the dough, adding a nice nuttiness. But, other than the added step of watching and swirling the melting butter to make sure that it doesn’t go from browned loveliness to black, this recipe is a cinch.

I ate a piece as soon as it had cooled enough for, you know, scientific, recipe-testing purposes. And then I ate another piece a few hours later when it was well and truly cooled to room temperature for, you know, comparison purposes. And I have to say that while Julie seemed to prefer it fresh from the oven, I had different feelings. Once it had cooled, the purply plummy juices had soaked more into the cake, which had solidified slightly.

Plums

Plums and spices

Ready to bake

Plum Cake and Ice Cream

This recipe is adapted from Julie (see her post here), which in turn appears to be adapted from elsewhere. That’s one of the things I love about cooking: it’s about taking something and making it your own.

Brown Butter Plum Cake

  • 8 or so plums, thickly sliced (or try peaches, apples, apricots)
  • 3/4 cup + 3 Tbsp. sugar, divided
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • dash nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350F and butter a pie plate.

Toss the fruit in a bowl with about 2 tbsp. of the sugar, the cinnamon and nutmeg. Spread into the plate.

Melt the butter in a saucepan or small frying pan and keep cooking it for about five minutes until it turns golden. (Swirl the pot occasionally and watch it carefully; it goes quickly from brown to black.)

Pour the butter into a bowl and add the 3/4 cup of sugar, then the eggs and flour. Pour over the fruit and sprinkle with one tablespoon of sugar.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden and the juices are coming up around the edges.

Delicious with vanilla ice cream.

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24 Comments

  1. The only people not in love with a pile of plums wrapped in cake, and bolstered with Ice-cream, are those with sooooooouls!

    Nice one!

  2. Good question, Mallory. I let it cool a little bit because I didn’t want the eggs to scramble. A few minutes should be enough.

  3. Made this last night for my birthday dinner. AMAZING! And, it’s just as good for breakfast this morning. This is a dish you’ll find yourself dreaming about.

  4. Michelle, that is one of the best comments! Thanks for making me laugh.

    Newell, Happy Birthday! I totally ate this for breakfast too. It’s fruit, right? That’s healthy.

  5. It took me three days before I had a chance to make it, but I think I thought about it every day. :)

    It was so fabulous!

    I am wondering though, what is the point of browning the butter. I am pretty sure I have only ever had burnt butter so I was skeptical, but I went ahead and browned it. I thought it tasted ver good, but what woudl the difference be if I had jsut melted it? (I thought about making another one with just melted butter to try it, but haven’t had a chance yet.)

  6. Tara, I’ve also wondered about trying to make this again without the browned-butter step to see what happens. If you do that, let me know how it turns out and I will do the same.

    But, I’m glad you liked it.

  7. Made this last night with apples from the tree…added some grated lemon rind….not as moist as the plum version .. lovely flavour! Next time will add a slosh of liqueur to the fruit…or use plums.

  8. I made this the first time with exactly your recipe. It was delicious! The second time I used cherries instead of plums and added a dash of vanilla and a dash of salt to the batter. Also fabulous. I think the teeny bit of salt helped enhance the brown butter flavor.

    Thanks for adding to my dessert repertoire!

  9. Rachel, I haven’t heard anyone trying that yet, but it sounds fantastic. Or even a combination of apples and cranberries would probably be delicious. Let me know how it turns out if you decide to experiement.

  10. I made this cake last night, and it was delicious! We’ve already eaten more than half of it.. I love your blog! I initially saw the recipe on Julie’s blog and then saw it here as well. I love your blog!
    I added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla to the plums. :-)

    I’m going to post it on my blog and link back.
    337greenwich.blogspot

  11. I made this cake last night, and it was delicious! We’ve already eaten more than half of it. Love your blog! I initially saw the recipe on Julie’s blog and then saw it here as well.
    I added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla to the plums. :-)

    I’m going to post it on my blog and link back.
    337greenwich.blogspot.com

  12. I’m not an English native speaker and I’m not sure about this sentence
    Stir the 3/4 cup of sugar into the butter, then the eggs, then the flour. Pour over the fruit and sprinkle with the last tablespoon of sugar.

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