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Almond Plum Buckle

Almond Plum Buckle

In an effort to try and eat more fruit, I bought some plums………I thought Tim liked plums. Turns out he wasn’t sure he did…..oops. They sat in the fridge a few days and then I remembered a recipe from Epicurious.com……Almond Plum Buckle. A long time ago, when I first started to really get into cooking, someone gave me a bunch of plums. I wasn’t sure what to do with them, so I went on the search for a recipe.

Now, when I first started to…… surf the web…….does anyone say that anymore? Epicurious.com was my go to site for everything. I spent hours and hours searching the site for just the right recipe. Which is how I came across Almond Plum Buckle.

What is a buckle you ask………..time for a lesson ……..the term Buckle is a type of cake made in a single layer with fruit added to the batter. It is usually made with blueberries. The topping is similar to a streusel, which gives it a buckled or crumpled appearance.

This does not have the traditional streusel type topping, just almonds and sugar……….turbinado sugar. I love this stuff, it gives whatever you put it on a nice crunchy sugary crust. Adding the almonds…….well it just made it almondier………don’t judge , sometimes I just make up words!

The almonds and sugar are the only changes I made to the original recipe that was published in Bon Appetit in July of 2006. It reminds me of coffee cake but not quite as crumbly. I served it with ice cream , but a dollop of whipped cream would be awesome also.

If you love almonds, cake, and plums you will love this buckle. Plus it is so pretty to look at, it is a perfect show off dish. But your secret is, its easy to make.

When Tim was taking the pictures he commented on how nice it looked, and after he ate it he said it was “plum good”!

Almond Plum Buckle

★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆ No reviews

Author: Carolyn Beth Weil/Bon Appetit 2006
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes plus 20 cooling time
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Yield: 12 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

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Ingredients

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Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup whole almonds (about 2 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 pounds plums (about 8 medium), halved, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup turbinado sugar

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Instructions

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Spray 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper round.
Finely grind almonds in processor. Transfer to medium bowl; whisk in flour, baking powder, and salt. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add 1 cup sugar; beat until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and almond extract, then flour mixture just until incorporated.
Transfer batter to prepared pan; spread evenly and smooth top with spatula. Gently press plum slices, flesh side down, into batter in spoke pattern around outer rim and center of cake, placing close together. Sprinkle slivered almond and turbinado sugar over plums.
Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 20 minutes. Run small knife between cake and pan sides to loosen. Invert cake onto platter; remove parchment paper. Place another platter atop cake. Using both hands, hold both platters firmly together and invert cake, plum side up. Cool cake completely. Cut into wedges.

Keywords: plums, buckle, dessert, almonds

Almond Lemon Crumb Bars

Almond Lemon Crumb Bars

A bag of Organic Lemons on sale!!!!!!…………on sale for $1.49!!!!!!! Too good of a bargain to pass up!!!!

Oh no!! What do I do with a bag of Organic Lemons????……….When life hands you lemons, at a bargain price ……..you make Almond Lemon Crumb Bars, of course!

I must admit, I have not always liked lemon bars. Maybe the ones I remember from childhood were too artificial lemony, or maybe I just wasn’t a lemon lover. Well, times they do change………I love lemon, but it has to be real lemon! By real lemon I do not mean that little plastic lemon shape with juice inside, nor do I mean the big green bottle called real lemon. I mean, the buy it in the produce section, bright yellow, squeeze it yourself lemon.

So, not wanting just a plain average lemon bar, not that they are not good, but I wanted to do something a little jazzier with my lemons.

I like a crumbly crunchy topping on…….well almost anything, but on a dessert bar it’s the bomb! A nice cookie crust with just a hint of almond flavor, a soft silky center with just the right amount of lemon, and the crunchy topping with sliced almonds.

Now, Tim and I are really trying to do the healthy thing……with moderate success. So instead of us eating the whole pan, I bestowed my Almond Lemon Crumb Bars on our neighbors and my co-workers. I saved us each one bar………OK two, but they were really small……but at least we didn’t eat the whole pan………now if we could just learn to drive by the Dairy Queen…..LOL.

Almond Lemon Crumb Bars

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Author: Marty Boyd
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield: 24 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

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Ingredients

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For the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
For the filling:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger*
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons lemon zest
For the topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sliced almonds

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Instructions

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Spray a 9″x 13″ baking pan with non stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
With a mixer on medium speed, beat butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and creamy.
Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add flour and salt, mixing until dough is crumbly but holds together when pinched.
Press dough evenly and firmly into prepared pan. Chill 10 to 15 minutes.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Set aside.
For filling:
Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
Mix flour and ginger in the bowl of a food processor. Process until ginger is finely chopped (about 1 minute)if using crystalized ginger. Stir in baking powder.
Whisk together eggs and sugar. Add flour mixture, and mix until combined. Stir in lemon juice and zest.
Pour filling mixture over crust.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until filling is almost set. Remove from oven and set aside while making the topping.
For topping:
Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Stir in melted butter, mixing well. Stir in almonds. Sprinkle topping mixture evenly over filling. Gently press into the filling.
Return to oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned and almonds are lightly toasted.
Cool bars completely in pan on a wire rack before cutting into bars.
Decorated with candied lemons, or sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

Notes

*You can substitute 2 teaspoons of ground ginger and 2 teaspoons of powdered sugar , mixed with 2 teaspoons of water in place of crystallized ginger. Do not mix add to flour mixture but add with wet ingredients.

Serving size of 24 is based cutting 2 inch bars.

Keywords: almond, lemon, dessert bar, bake, dessert

Almond Poppyseed Cupcakes-Almond Buttercream Frosting

So, what to do, what to do……..it snows…..every other day, and when its not snowing,it’s sub-zero and not fit for man nor beast! But the blessing in this, is that, well really there are two blessings…….. Snow Days …..yeah! and Baking….yeah!

I have a renewed joy in baking these days. There was a time when baking was not on the top of my list. See, I was a bakery manager at a local grocery store for a number of years, and after awhile the joy of it kinda disappears.

I always joked that I was a “fake and bake” baker. So many of the products you buy in grocery stores these days come par baked or totally baked and you finish the process or combine items to makes what really can be some amazing items. I remember one of my regular customers asking about the cream puffs that I sold like crazy. She thought that I made them myself, when in reality, the shell of the cream puff came pre baked and frozen, so all I had to do was thaw them, cut them in half, use the bavarian cream filling from the 35# bucket, melt frosting from another bucket and drizzle it across and……. oh la la a cream puff. Continue reading “Almond Poppyseed Cupcakes-Almond Buttercream Frosting”