This recipe is based on Cook’s Illustrated French Apple Cake. Cook’s Illustrated Recipes are mostly iron clad great wonderful recipes but this one recipe that was the French Apple Cake was slightly off. Many others have blogged about that recipe and also felt that recipe needed some tweaks. Anyways I played around with that recipe and swapped out the cup of oil for 4oz of butter. That made a great improvement to their recipe and took away the greasy oil problem. I think it also tasted better……….It came out good but the Forking Truth is that the variation I did with Pears was better! (Look up Pear Almond Cake here)  Here is another one Plums, Pomegranate and Pine Nuts because that’s what I had in my kitchen. It comes out moist with a custardy fruited filling and it’s topped with a light cake topping. Still a nice dessert. This recipe is slightly challenging sort of fun!

Ingredients for about 8 servings

1 lb plums – cut in bite size pieces

1 cup pomegranate

1 cup flour

1/4 cup almond flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 egg

4 oz unsalted butter – melted

1/2 cup nonfat dry milk

1 cup water

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

1/4 cup pinenuts

2 yolks – (to big bowl)

2 Tablespoons flour – (to small bowl)

1 Tablespoon sugar – (to top the cake before oven)

non stick spray

optional a sprinkle of 10x sugar

Directions

Set oven to 325 degrees F.

Spray a springform pan with non stick spray

In a large bowl add cup flour, cup sugar, almond flour, baking powder, salt, dry milk and mix. Set to the side

In a medium bowl add one egg, butter, water, vanilla and mix well. Add this wet bowl to the dry large bowl and mix.

Remove one cup of batter and add the two Tablespoons of flour and the pine nuts. keep to the side.

To the large bowl add the two egg yolks, plums and pomegranate.

Pour big bowl (fruited) batter into the pan.

Top the batter with the cup of batter.

Then sprinkle the top of batter with the Tablespoon of sugar.

Loosely cover the top with foil.

It goes in the 325 degree F oven foe an hour.

After an hour remove the loose foil.

You might want to put the cake back in the over for another 15 minutes to brown the cake.

When the cake is down let it sit on the counter for at least an hour to cool some.

When the cake is much cooler put it in the refrigerator to set. the cake needs at least two or three hours in the refrigerator to set.

Unlock the pan and use a soft knife to free the cake from the sides of the pan. Top with a little 10x sugar if desired.

Enjoy! Check out the other recipes, Cook’s Illustrated French Apple Cake and my variation …..best so far… Pear Almond Cake.