Sometimes I still bake

In other news, I still bake. I've had to cut down since college, since I no longer have our roommate Brian to count on eating everything I make. Recently I made a plum upside down cake in order to use up a bunch of plums we got in our produce box. Joe ate it within 48 hours so pretty successful, I'd say.

Plum upside down cake, adapted from Real Simple

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan, at room temperature
• 4  firm, ripe plums, each cut into 8 wedges (This looked measly and I cut them into 16)
• 1/4  cup  plus 2/3 cup granulated sugar (I cut this down to 1/3 cup and thought it was fine)
• 1  cup  all-purpose flour
• 3/4  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1  large egg
• 2/3  cup  sour cream (I used plain nonfat greek yogurt)
• 1  teaspoon  pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Butter an 8-inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the plums and 1/4 cup of the sugar and cook, tossing, until the sugar dissolves and the juices from the plums become syrupy, 3 to 4 minutes. Arrange the plums in the cake pan in slightly overlapping concentric circles, starting from the outside. Spoon any pan juices over the top.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. With an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup of the butter and 2/3 cup of the sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, sour cream, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated.
5. Pour the batter over the plums and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 1 hour. Place a large plate over the cake pan and invert the cake onto the plate. ______________________________________________________________________________

In conclusion, here's a terrifying fact about Martha Stewart:

Thanks Martha Stewart! Now I know just how to welcome my bambino into the world.