[disclaim]I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. [/disclaim]
Recently, I got the wonderful opportunity to review The Troll Cookbook by Karima Cammell and Clint Marsh. It’s broken down into seasons – winter, spring, summer, and fall. But, it’s so much more than just a cookbook!
There are lovely illustrations of trolls all throughout the book. It teaches you what a troll is and all you ever wanted to know about trolls. It goes through how trolls “measure” their ingredients. It even tells you about the troll’s Magic Wand — a wooden spoon and how to make one!
My favorite parts of The Troll Cookbook were the troll stories. Each season had a troll story. My 6-year-old really likes these stores. She asks me to read them at bedtime to her.
This book is chocked full of all kinds of cooking and baking. You can see how to make yogurt and bread from wild yeast. There’s just so much back to basics you can learn from this from candied lemon peel to how to make your own bathtub gin! I love sitting down with a cup of tea and this book just learning new things like Dandelion Root Beer or how to make flavored salt. There’s even a section on what to use from your kitchen to make your own compost. There’s just so much!
There are some lovely parts in this book for stone fruits. Stone fruits are probably my favorite things to eat. It inspired me to share my own recipe for an Upside Down Plum Cake. You don’t even have to peel the plums. That beautiful purple and pink coloring comes from the skins when they are baking. I just love this cake.
Start off with six large plums, and they can be red or black, or any kind of plum. Cut them into 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick.
Once you have sliced up the plums, grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring form pan and place the plums on the bottom of the pan.
Next, we will make a caramel sauce from brown sugar, butter, and water. I like to do it in the microwave because I do not want to slave over a hot stove, but you can also stir it on medium heat until it thickens.
I combine all the ingredients and put them in a microwave safe bowl. I heat for 3 minutes and then stir. Then, I head for an additional 2 minutes and stir. If it still feels runny (like water), I heat it for an additional 1-2 minutes. If you heat it too long without stopping and stirring, it will bubble over into a hot mess. It is not fun to clean up — believe me!
Once it feels thickened (about 5 minutes of cooking or so) pour it all over the plums. Then, set aside the pan while we make the cake.
Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, and butter and beat with an electric mixer until combined. Add in everything else BUT the whipping cream. Beat for about 30 seconds until combined. Then, beat on medium for an additional two minutes. Lastly, add 1/2 cup of whipping cream and fold it in with a spatula until combined.
Add the cake batter to the plums and gently spread it around so you don’t displace your pretty plums. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean when you check. Make sure you put a foil-lined pan on the rack below to catch any caramel dripping out. I had this happen.
Let it cool for about 30 minutes before placing it in the fridge to cool completely for a few hours. I let mine stay overnight in the fridge because the very first time I made this cake, I did not wait long enough and my plums were not “gelled” to the cake, so they just slide off everywhere. It was not pretty. Once you’re ready, unlatch the spring form pan and remove the outer part. Then, flip the cake over onto your serving plate. You might need to use a knife to gently release the bottom. I have had to do this many times.
When I serve my Upside Down Plum Cake, I like to add a big dollop of fresh whipping cream right to the middle of the cake.
Print
Upside Down Plum Cake
Ingredients
Fruit
- 6 plums, sliced 1/4 inch thin
Caramel Sauce
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbs butter, softened
Cake Batter
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring form pan.
- Slice the plums into 1/4 inch slices.
- Place the plums in a nice circular pattern around the bottom of the pan.
- Combine brown sugar, water, and butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 3 minutes and stir.
- Heat for an additional 2 minutes and stir. If still runny, heat for an additional 2 minutes.
- Pour the caramel sauce over the plums and set aside.
- Combine butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs in an electric mixer and beat until combined.
- Add the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and mix on medium for 30 seconds.
- Beat for an additional 2 minutes on medium.
- Gently cover the plums with the cake batter using a spatula.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool for 30 minutes before placing in the fridge for a few hours to completely cool and to allow the plums to gel together. I put mine in the fridge overnight.
- When ready to serve, gently remove the sides of the spring form pan. Flip the cake over onto the serving plate, and with a sharp knife, gently go around the edge of the bottom of the pan so it will release.
- Serve with a dollop of fresh whipping cream in the middle of the cake.
If you are a craft or DIYer who loves to cook and bake with natural ingredients, you will love The Troll Cookbook. Please visit the authors Karima Cammell on Twitter and Instagram and Clint Marsh on Twitter and Instagram.
30 comments
Wow! This looks delicious but I don’t bake! But, I can read, I am sure I could give it a go!
I wish I were so talented to make beautiful food like this! Thank you for sharing!
Stone fruit season is my favorite time. This upside down cake looks divine. I love that it came from the Troll Cookbook.
I’ve never heard of this cookbook before! I think it’s really entertaining and it makes cooking fun for us. The cake looks exceptional and I’m sure it tastes just as good too, if not better!
Oh my, that cookbook would be fun to look through. The upside down plum cake sounds really good!
This book looks interesting. Thanks for sharing the recipe, by the way!
I want to try this upside down cake recipe. I also want to have this book, sounds nice!
That looks so yummy! I love cookbooks that are more than recipes, like this! It gets me more involved in the story and makes me want to make the recipes even more.
I like this recipe, looks so yummy. This is nice to pair with a cup of warm coffee.
That cake looks amazing. I’ve never heard of this cookbook either. I’ll have to check it out. I bet this cake tastes really good too.
Wow, these is a great cookbook I can use it all the time and have a new recipe
I love how the book is broken down by seasons. The dish you made looks amazing and i bet it tastes just as good. I am excited to see what they offer in the fall.
This Upside down plum cake sounds real good. That said what a great sounding cookbook idea. So curious 🙂
I haven’t had plum cake yet but it looks delicious! Love the idea of a troll cookbook.
This book was so interesting, I should tell this to my mom
This Upside Down Plum cake looks delicious! and I love the idea of the troll cookbook
That plum cake looks almost as delicious as the book looks super cute! I need this book in my life. Even if I never cook with it. Love it!
Sounds like a really awesome book. And that cake looks amazing. Cannot wait to try it.
What a darling cookbook. The plum recipe looks like something my grandmother would of made (traditional comfort dessert) and I love that there are stories to read as well. Very endearing indeed. It would make a lovely gift.
This sounds delicious. I haven’t had upside down cake in a very long time.
That is one super cool cook book. I like how the troll concept is integrated into the cook book. It adds to the appeal of the recipe(s) – and for this post, it has made the Upside Down Plum Cake really interesting. I am excited to try the recipe.
What a cute cookbook! The Upside Down Plum cake looks amazing as well. I want this cookbook!
I love to try new recipes. This sounds like a great cookbook. I will have to pick up a copy and try some of the recipes.
I love plums. This looks yummy and I’ll probably have to get my sister to try this out. Thanks for sharing the recipe. – Yolonda
I have never heard of this book!! I love that reading can read to baking like this, the cake turned out amazing it looks like.
The troll stories sound fabulous! We are huge fans of plums, so I need to take advantage of your recipe. YUM!
This cake looks so delicious! I would love to try it. It looks so pretty! I would definitely read this book. I still love to read a good children’s book from time to time.
Yum! I haven’t had plum cake before. I don’t think I even had tried having plums. That looks really good.
My husband would love this dessert. He is a huge plum lover!
This seems like a really neat and interesting cookbook. I love reading about creatures like trolls, faeries, gnomes, etc. The cake looks like it is tasty.
First of all, this cook book is so cute! I love that it has all the pictures in it. Very unique. Second, this upside down plum cake sounds AWESOME! I love plums and how sweet and juicy they are. Not to mention the recipe sounds super easy. Love it!