Those of us of a certain age (and you know who you are) remember the pineapple upside down cakes which appeared so often at mid-century get togethers. Topped with canned pineapple rounds and the ubiquitous maraschino cherry in the center, these cakes were colorful and somewhat visually appealing, and most of us hardly noticed the effects of the red dye #5.

Our fresh 21st century version of the upside down cake features plums, whose pink hue and sweet tart flavor makes this buttery, light cake a favorite for breakfast, dessert or that 3 o’clock pick me up with coffee. We usually make 2 cakes at a time because we know from experience that one cake isn’t enough to feed our hungry hoards. Look for plums that are somewhat firm and yield slightly to pressure. They will soften during the cooking process to tender tart sweetness.

Makes One 9-inch Cake

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 plums, stoned and each cut into 12 slices
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Sweetened Whipped Cream (page xx) or ice cream as an accompaniment

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter in the mixer bowl on medium speed. Add the sugar and continue to beat for another 3 minutes. Add the egg and grated lemon zest and beat for 1 minute longer.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in another bowl and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk on slow, beating until the batter is smooth. Mix in the vanilla.

In a 9-inch cake pan melt the 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the 1/4-cup sugar and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Carefully remove the pan from the heat and lay down the plum slices in a decorative pattern working from the center to the outside, overlapping them slightly. Sprinkle with the lemon juice. Return the pan to the heat and cook undisturbed for another 4 minutes. Look for the juices to bubble up and around the plums.

Remove the pan from the heat and carefully and evenly add the batter to the pan covering the fruit. Try not to disturb the placement of the fruit slices. Bake the cake in the middle of the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a serving plate. Serve the cake warm or room temperature with the Sweetened Whipped Cream or ice cream as desired.

Nothing will snap you out of a Thanksgiving food coma quicker than Pumpkin Cheesecake. Well…that may not be true, but there are many other reasons to love this delicious culinary collision of pumpkin pie and creamy cheesecake. It also embodies all that we love about our favorite fall pie, but in a richer, tangier, colder and smoother way. The gingersnap crust adds zip, but if you want to take the flavor to another level try using Trader Joe Triple Ginger Gingersnaps. They contain little flecks of crystallized ginger and make the best gingersnap crust ever. Another bonus is that it serves 10 generously sized wedges, which may or may not be enough to satisfy your cheesecake yearnings.Serves 10

Crust:
2-1/4 cups ground gingersnap cookies
1-1/2 cups pecans, toasted and ground
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
1-1/2 lbs cream cheese, room temperature
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 15oz can solid pack pumpkin
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon juice

4 large eggs

Boiling water

Preheat oven to 350°F
9-inch (23 cm) springform pan

In a medium bowl, mix together the gingersnaps, pecans and sugar. Add melted butter and stir until combined. Press crust mixture onto the bottom and 2- inches (5 cm) sides of the pan.

For Filling: In the mixer bowl, using the flat beater on Speed 4, beat cream cheese and sugar until light, about 1 minute, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add pumpkin, cream, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and salt to mixture and beat until well combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined, scraping down the sides of bowl in between each egg.

Line the outside of the springform pan with a double layer of foil that covers up to the top edge of the pan. Set the pan inside the roasting pan and pour filling into crust (filling will almost fill pan). Set the roasting pan in the oven and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the springform. Bake until cheesecake puffs around the edges, and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 1-1/2 hours. Run small sharp knife around cake pan sides to loosen cheesecake. Transfer the entire roasting pan to rack and cool 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the water and continue to cool until room temperature, about 2 hours. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Note: To help prevent the top from cracking, it’s important to loosen the cake sides from the pan immediately after removing from oven. This allows the cake to contract without sticking to the sides which would pull on the top and create cracks.