11. olive oil ricotta plum cake

I make this every year with the plums from my tree. I have made two so far this year and I will make at least two more. Note to anyone who doesn't have a springform pan, this does not work in a standard tart pan, it isn't deep enough and doesn't bake properly, at least, not when I'm the baker. When I make this cake, I remember why this is the only cake I ever want to make.

This recipe is slightly edited from Food52 by Kenzi Wilbur. I don't like too much sugar in my cake so I lowered it from 1 cup. But if your plums are super tart, you might want to macerate them in a tablespoon of sugar while you're tossing the rest of the ingredients together.

Kenzi notes that the flour doesn't have to be sifted. I may try that next time. But don't over-mix it. It likes to be barely folded.

Ingredients: 

• Butter for pan
• 1 cup fresh, full-fat ricotta
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 2 large eggs
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 9-10 small plums, halved, pitted, and set aside
• 1 tablespoon sugar or honey

Instructions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F, and butter and flour a 9-inch springform. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine and whisk the ricotta, oil, sugar, and zest together. Add one egg, whisk well; add the next, whisk again. 
3. Sift all of the dry ingredients directly over the wet ingredients you just whisked together. Mix with a spoon gently until just combined. (Use more of a folding motion toward the end -- this will help keep the gluten from developing in your batter, which will keep your cake from toughening or becoming too dense.) 
4. Pour the batter into the cake pan, spreading it out evenly as needed. If your plums are very tart, toss them with a tablespoon of sugar or honey, and place them in the top of the cake, cut-side down. 
5. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, the edges are pulling away from the pan, and a cake tester or toothpick comes out of the cake cleanly. (My oven usually takes 45 minutes.) 
6. Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then turn out to finish cooling on a rack. 
7. I always serve this with whipped cream spiked with Lazzaroni Amaretto. It tastes amazing with that touch of almond cookie flavor.