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Olive Oil Ricotta Cake with Italian Plums

Available briefly in the fall, Italian plums are the star of this simple, sweet cake.
Servings 6 to 8 slices

Equipment

  • 9-inch springform pan

Ingredients

  • 1 cup ricotta cheese (full fat is ideal, but use what you can find)
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 9-12 ripe, sweet Italian plums, cut in half and stoned (see Kitchen Notes)
  • powdered sugar (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF, with a rack in the middle. Butter and flour the springform pan.
  • Next, break the eggs into a large bowl and whisk them until they are uniform. Add in the ricotta, sugar and the vanilla, and stir together until all is smooth and even.
  • Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a separate bowl and stir together with a fork. Sift the dry ingredients over the ricotta mixture, then fold everything together carefully just until it is all mixed together. Don't stir aggressively—you don’t want the gluten to develop, which will make the cake tough.
  • Scrape the batter into the springform pan and smooth it out to level the surface. Put the prunes on top, cut side down and evenly spaced, and push them into the batter just slightly.
  • Slide the cake pan into the oven and set a timer for 35 minutes—note that this may take up to 50 minutes, depending on your oven. The cake will be ready when it is uniformly golden on top, a tester inserted near the center comes out clean, and the edges are just pulling away from the sides of the pan.
  • Put the pan on a rack and let the cake cool for 15 minutes. Then run a knife around the edge to loosen things and pop off the springform ring. Let the cake finish cooling.
  • If you like, serve this with a dusting of powdered sugar. Lovely.

Kitchen Notes

Are your plums less than sweet? You can still use them—toss with a couple of teaspoons of sugar just before putting them on the top of the cake.