The first plums to ripen in our area are small, juicy plums called sugar plums. I went a little crazy at the u-pick orchard and ended up with 19 pounds of sugar plums. The weekend was spent making jelly, jam and here is a new recipe for plum cake. It is a nice combination of the plum tartness with a buttery crust and strudel topping.

Plum Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 teaspoon salt

3 cups sliced fresh plums

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cold butter

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts (chopped)

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well.

2. Spread in a greased 9-inch square baking dish. Top with plums. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over plums.

3. For topping combine flour and sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in walnuts if desired. Sprinkle over top.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until topping is golden brown and plums are tender (I baked a little longer as my plums were very juicy). Cool on a wire rack.