Plum Crumb-yes, that's really the name of this cake

It's Tuesday again, and that means hundreds of internet bakers are joining together as part of our TWD baking club and recreating a sweet treat from Dorie Greenspan's sizeable tome, "Baking: From My Home to Yours." This week, the appointed recipe is a plum brioche tart. You will not find a plum brioche tart here. Yeast risen brioche dough, while extremely pleasant in other forms, is not to my liking in tart form. And so I had decided not to participate in today's baking, except that a couple of days ago while swimming in my parent's backyard, my daughter noticed some plums, just ripe for the picking on a poolside tree. Together we plucked the best of the bunch, and then threw the squishy ones over the fence because no one lives back there and it seemed like the sensible thing to do. Ripe plums make very fine baseballs, in case you are ever in need, by the way. Having procured my plums by sheer fortune, I knew I had to make something delicious with them. I remembered a plum crumb cake that I used to love from an old Pillsbury cookbook. Please don't be put off by the name Plum Crumb. Maybe you won't be, but my mother regularly uses the noun "Crumb" to label married men with-how shall I say?- lascivious and licentious behavior. For example, if Mom knows anything about John Gosselin, she would definitely dub him a Crumb. But don't blame this crumb for any of his misdeeds. This crumb is a soft lemon cake, covered with juicy jewel -toned plums, and then topped with a brown sugar streusel. I remembered that I used to adore it, but like so many things that I used to love in my youth (cool ranch doritos, for example) I worried that it wouldn't survive the test of time. I am very happy to be wrong. It's scrumptious, just absolutely scrumptious and I hope you'll make one soon. I sure will. I know a great place to get some free plums.
Money Saving Tips:

The best time to get a good price on plums is summer and early fall, so act now. (Anybody in your neighborhood have a plum tree?) All other ingredients are pantry staples, so once you get a good price on plums, you should be able to make this one for mere pennies. You can easily double or triple this recipe. If you choose to double, use one whole egg, instead of two yolks. Substitute plain yogurt, sour cream, or plain milk for the buttermilk, if necessary.
Plum Crumb Cake

Estimated Cost: $3.00

Serves Four
2 tablespoons butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 eggs yolk

1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

generous pinch of salt salt

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 and 1/2 cups sliced plums with skins

Crumb Topping:

5 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 5 inch springform pan, (or use a loaf pan) with no stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add yolk, lemon zest and juice. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, powder, soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with buttermilk in two additions. Pour batter into prepared pan. Cover with layer of sliced plums. In a separate small bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Mix in melted butter with fork. Crumble over the top of plums. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. Check doneness in center with toothpick and be sure that toothpick comes out clean.

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