For some, the perfect taste of summer is a juice-running-down-your-chin slice of watermelon or a vine-ripened tomato. For chef Dustin Valette of Best of Award of Excellence winner the Matheson and Award of Excellence winner Valette, both in Healdsburg, Calif., plums evoke the season. “My favorite childhood memories include walking through orchards and eating fresh plums,” he says.
Valette grew up just north of Healdsburg, which for many years was known as the prune belt of California. (Prunes are dehydrated prune plums.) His uncle farmed 60 acres in nearby Alexander Valley until the prominence of wine grapes took hold around 40 years ago. “During harvest, the smell of plums permeated the air,” Valette recalls. He always uses plums in his restaurants to pay homage to his uncle and Healdsburg’s roots. “It’s all about sharing memories with customers,” he adds.
Today, Valette works primarily with local farmers who farm heritage orchards, but both his uncle and father have a few old plum trees on their properties. He finds plums an incredibly versatile product to work with. He’ll often marinate fresh plums in lime or yuzu juice in his restaurants and add them to dishes like hamachi crudo or burrata salad with crusty bread. Here, he shares a recipe for a warm plum cake that uses plums in two ways, including in a gastrique to intensify the plum flavor. He tops the cake with vanilla Chantilly. It’s the kind of dish that beckons on a warm summer night on the porch with a glass of Sauternes.
Warm Plum Cake with Plum-Orange Gastrique and Vanilla Chantilly
The Cake
- 3 Santa Rosa (or Satsuma) plums, seeds removed, sliced into half-moons 1/4” thick
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces powdered sugar, sifted
- 4 ounces almond paste
- ½ orange, zested
- ½ scraped vanilla bean seeds
- 4 ounces whole eggs (1 egg is roughly 1.5 ounces)
- 2.5 ounces flour, sifted
- Pinch kosher salt
1. In a medium bowl, combine the sliced plums and 1 tablespoon sugar. Set aside.
2. Combine butter, powdered sugar, almond paste, orange zest, dash salt and vanilla bean in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix at medium speed for 3–4 minutes until light and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs one at a time and mix an additional 2 minutes. Remove the bowl and gently fold in the flour with a spatula, being careful not to overmix.
3. Preheat oven to 325° F. Using a 9x9 inch baking pan, add a layer of parchment paper to the bottom and grease it with butter or spray. Shingle the macerated plums on top. A bit of overlap is OK. Scoop batter onto the plums, covering and making the mixture about 1 ½ inches thick. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar and bake 20–25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Keep warm while preparing the gastrique and Chantilly (recipes below).
Plum-Orange Gastrique
- 1.5 cups Santa Rosa (or Satsuma) plums, diced (4–5 plums)
- ½ orange, zested
- 1 orange, juiced
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ vanilla bean, scraped
- ¼ each lemon, juiced
1. Combine all ingredients (except the lemon juice) in a small pot over medium heat until the plums soften and the liquid is reduced to a syrup. Remove the vanilla bean and add lemon juice. Adjust with sugar if needed. Keep warm.
Vanilla Chantilly Cream
- 2/3 cup crème frâiche
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- ¼ vanilla bean, scraped, seeds only
1. Combine the crème frâiche, powdered sugar and vanilla bean and whisk to soft peaks. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. To serve, flip the cake upside down onto a cutting board and remove the parchment paper. Slice and plate the cake, keeping the plums facing up. Drizzle the plum gastrique and finish with a large scoop of vanilla Chantilly. For added wow factor, decorate with borage flowers.
Pick Your Plum
There are hundreds of varieties of plums, many of which are European (round) or Chinese and Japanese (more oblong) in origin. They have distinct flavors and come in a panoply of colors. Below are a few of the most common versions found in grocery stores.
Santa Rosa Plum: A relatively large purple plum with sweet and juicy flesh, yet its skin is relatively tart, making it fit to be served in salads or savory dishes like roasts and tagines. The variety is also high in pectin, making it a good candidate for baking or in jams and jellies.
Black Plum: Probably the most widely available and popular variety. Round, with smooth blue-black skin, while the flesh can be dark red or yellow. Offers a sweet yet somewhat tart flavor. Best eaten fresh but can be used for baking.
Prune Plum: Oblong in shape, with a deep reddish black color and mild flavor. Popular for drying, but when eaten fresh, they are sweet enough for use in salads or a variety of baking purposes.
