Plum skillet cake

This cake is from the current (August 2010) edition of Martha Stewart Living magazine. I knew I would be making this cake as soon as I saw the recipe. It's stone fruit season and we have been having a lot of them around here and that means coming up with ways to use them all up! Although the recipe calls for plums, you could use peaches or almost any other fruit you like. I don't think I've ever really had a dessert that used plums before, so I decided to give this one a try. I made some minor adjustments to the recipe and the recipe I used is below. The cake is very light and makes a nice summer dessert (though you do, unfortunately, have to turn on your oven).

Plum skillet cake
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for the skillet
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for skillet
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 ripe plums, thinly sliced
zest of 1 lemon and juice and half the lemon

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch (I used a 10-inch and cut the cooking time to about 25 minutes) cast iron skillet. Dust with flour and tap out the excess. Slice up the plums very thinly and place them in a bowl with the lemon juice, tossing gently to coat. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the egg and lemon zest. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk.

Pour the batter into the skillet and smooth out the top with a spatula or spoon. Fan the plums across the top and sprinkle with sugar (coarse sugar like turbinado works well for this, too). Bake until golden (an inserted toothpick should come out clean), about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly and then serve in wedges. Refrigerate any leftovers.