Bake the Book
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[Photograph: Jean-Pierre Gabriel]

Maximize the bounty of summer's stone fruit with these plum cakes from Le Pain Quotidien. Made with quinoa flour and quinoa pearls, they're a sweetly textured treat.

Reprinted with permission by Alain Coumont. Copyright © 2013. Published by Mitchell Beazley. Available wherever books are sold. All rights reserved.

About This Recipe

Yield: makes 6 cakes
Active time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 4 tablespoons grape seed oil, plus extra for greasing the tins
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin cold-pressed canola oil
  • 4 tablespoons soy milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup superfine sugar
  • 4 tablespoons quinoa
  • 1 cup (4 oz/125g) ground almonds
  • 3/4 cup (3 1/2oz/100g) quinoa flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 9 plums, pits removed, halved

Procedures

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using a wooden spoon or electric mixer, blend the eggs and oils to form a smooth emulsion (like mayonnaise), then add the soy milk, vanilla, and sugar. Add the remaining dry ingredients and continue mixing until you have a smooth, thick frangipane batter (if it's dense and dry, add a little more milk to loosen the mixture).

  2. Grease 6 dessert or pudding molds (about 4 inches in diameter) using a little grape seed oil. Cover the insides of the molds with the quinoa, then tip them upside down to remove any excess.

  3. Transfer the frangipane to a pastry (piping) bag fitted with a plain tip (nozzle) and fill the molds, dividing the mixture evenly among them. Place 3 plum halves on top of the frangipane, then place the molds on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the plums look a little shriveled and the frangipane is golden and feels firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.