This is the simplest recipe ever and every time I make the batter, I pause because there is so little of it (making me think I've forgotten something) which is spread very thinly on the bottom of a baking pan. Here I use a 9-inch cast-iron (because I never met a recipe I didn't want to try in it). Then, the plum halves are embedded on top and it always seems strange, like it'll never rise into a proper cake buried underneath all that fruit! But it always does. This is my kind of dessert, easily whipped up just before dinner--baking and scenting the room during dinner and served warm for dessert, melting ice-cream pooling into the crevices.

Leftovers also make a fantastic breakfast pastry.