As a tiny sense of autumn crisps itself into the air here in Los Angeles, I scrounged up a few end-of-season plums over the weekend and made a cake that, well, takes the cake. If I do say so myself. Which I do. :)
Gluten-Free September Cake With Ricotta & Plums
Pre-heat the oven to 350 and turn on tunes. My parents were in town over the weekend, and my dad was on the phone for much of it, so THAT soothing sound notwithstanding, I sang Earth Wind & Fire’s “September” while mixing up the batter. Of course.
1/3 cup sunflower oil
2/3 cup light agave
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
zest of 1 lime
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups Pamela’s baking mix
6-7 ripe plums, rinsed, halved (or quartered, your choice) and pitted
*Note: Make sure the plums are ripe! If they’re too tart, mix them with a tbls of agave or organic sugar before adding to the batter.
Mix the oil, agave and ricotta together until well combined. Add the eggs and lime zest and mix again. Add the Pamela’s and incorporate well. (If you’re not using Pamela’s, you’ll need to add leavening. Just use Pamela’s. It’s awesome.) Pour the batter into a greased 9 inch spring form cake pan. Arrange the plums, cut sides down, around the top of the batter.
Bake 30-35 minutes, or until the cake has browned nicely and is firm to the touch. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then take the ring off and let the cake finish cooling. Dust with a little organic confectioner’s sugar if you like before serving. YUM!! xox
My dad and my dog fought over the last piece of cake. My dad won. (Mostly.)
(Photo by Brooke Wilen)
Happy July! It’s hot! Africa hot! Tarzan couldn’t take this kind of hot! (Bonus–if you guess the movie that’s from I’ll send you a CD.)
Gluten-Free Plum Sorbet (Makes enough for 4)
When it’s this hot, you need some cooling music–this weekend I was listening to Suba, great music from Brazil!
1 1/2 lbs. ripe plums, peeled and pitted
1/2-3/4 cup light agave, depending on how sweet the plums are
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice (optional, but I dig the extra tang)
Pop all the ingredients in a blender and puree. Chill the mixture until really cold, at least an hour. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and fix according to its instructions. *Note: If you don’t have an ice cream maker, no worries! Pour the mixture into a freezer safe container and stir every 1/2 hr or so while it freezes..
Done!! Serve with a delicious gluten-free cookie..In this case, Amy’s organic gluten-free shortbread cut through the tang of the plums beautifully! xoxo
All gone!
As a tiny sense of autumn crisps itself into the air here in Los Angeles, I scrounged up a few end-of-season plums over the weekend and made a cake that, well, takes the cake. If I do say so myself. Which I do. :)
Gluten-Free September Cake With Ricotta & Plums
Pre-heat the oven to 350 and turn on tunes. My parents were in town over the weekend, and my dad was on the phone for much of it, so THAT soothing sound notwithstanding, I sang Earth Wind & Fire’s “September” while mixing up the batter. Of course.
