Italian Plum Cake

From “A Platter of Figs” by David Tanis
Notes by Jennifer Rossano

Ingredients:
1 cup unblanched almonds
½ cup sugar, plus about ¼ cup for topping
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons sweet butter, melted
2 pounds Italian plums, pitted and sliced thickly

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch tart pan or springform pan.  Put the almonds and the ½ cup sugar in a blender or food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add the flour and salt and pulse once more.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Beat the eggs with the milk and stir in the melted butter.  Add the egg mixture to the almond mixture and whisk for a minute or two until the batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into the pan and smooth with a spatula. Arrange the plum slices on top in a circular pattern.  Sprinkle sugar generously over the plums. 
Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top is golden and a pairing knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
The cake is best served within a few hours of baking.

Notes:
- You can substitute a cup of almond flour for the whole almonds. Mix with the sugar in a bowl, and proceed according to above directions.
- Baking might take more than an hour to achieve a golden top and desired doneness.
- Italian plums are in season toward the end of the summer and early fall.