Fruitful Endeavors

There is something genuinely magical about the fall in New England. The combination of the leaves changing color, the woodburning smell in the air, and those sun-filled perfect temperature days are exactly what I need to get me through the coming winter months.
My favorite part of it all, though, might be the seasonal fruits that become ripe for the picking: berries, peaches, plums, apples, cranberries and more. They make the season a little sweeter. It’s also a nice coincidence that the ending of summer means the end of bathing suit season and the beginning of dessert season.

Kristin Eddy is the uber-talented pastry chef behind all the sweet creations at Millwright’s Restaurant (Simsbury), The Cook & The Bear (West Hartford), and Porrón & Piña (Hartford). If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to try one of her delicious desserts, I recommend you put this down right now and go immediately. If you’ve decided to finish this article anyway, you are in luck because Kristin was kind enough to share a recipe for you to try at home, and she also shared a few of her favorite farms to source ingredients from, which I personally can’t wait to check out.

Kristin describes this recipe as being “the perfect way to feature a variety of fruits during different seasons.” It’s perfect for mixed berries during summer, apples, quince, or cranberries in the fall or winter, peaches and plums during late summer into early fall, and rhubarb in the spring.

Items can all be found locally at different farms around Connecticut, depending on what is seasonally available: Brown’s Harvest in Windsor, Bushy Hill Orchard in Granby, Rose’s Berry Farm in Glastonbury, Belltown Hill Orchards in South Glastonbury, Gresczyk Farms in New Hartford, and Barberry Hill Farm in Madison, to name just a few.

Plum Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup honey
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp sugar in the raw
• 3 ripe, but still firm plums of any variety

Cooking Directions

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Line a 10-inch cake pan with parchment, grease well.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cardamom, black pepper and salt; set aside.
• In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter and sugar.
• Add the egg, honey and vanilla; mix until the egg is fully incorporated.
• Alternate adding the dry mixture and milk into the butter, sugar and egg.
• Pour the batter into the lined 10-inch pan, spread evenly and arrange two of the sliced plums on top. Sprinkle the top of the cake with sugar in the raw.
• Bake for 30 minutes, until the cake springs back at the touch. Let the cake cool completely. Serve at room temperature with freshly whipped cream and additional sliced plums for garnish.

Amanda Call is a social media and digital marketing strategist and a restaurant industry veteran with a passion for food and hospitality. For more information, visit allofthethingsct.com. 

Photographed by Nick Caito