Plum and Almond Cake

In Outcast of Redwall, this is described as being a dark, heavy cake with a fruity aroma, made with old cider and baked slow to keep it moist. I used applesauce instead of cider, because it's a good substitute for oil. You can switch the milk to apple cider if you want.

1 cup flour (white wheat, whole wheat pastry, or oat flour)
1/2 cup almond meal
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg
1/2 cup milk, nut milk, or apple juice/cider
1/2 cup honey

1/4 tsp almond extract

2 Tbls. powdered sugar

8 plums (any kind), halved and pitted

1/4 cup chopped almonds
2 Tbls. softened butter

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt. 

In a separate bowl, combine the applesauce, egg, milk, honey, and almond extract. Whisk to blend thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and whisk until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the plum halves, cut side up, on top of the batter. 

In a bowl, combine the almonds, powdered sugar, and the butter and mix well. Sprinkle the topping over the cake.

Bake the cake for 35-45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Damson Jam

Makes just under 1 quart.

3 cup damson plums, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup honey or a mix of honey and pure maple syrup
1/3 cup water
2 Tbls. finely grated apple, raw and unpeeled

Combine the plums, honey, water and apple in saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat, but maintain boil. Stir and mash with a potato masher for about 15 minutes, or until thickened. Pour into prepared jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (plus 10 for high altitude).

Damson Preserve

Not going into the entire process of canning right now. Look up tutorials if you need.

Makes just under 1 quart.

2 pounds damson plums, pitted and cut in half
1 cup honey or mixed honey and pure maple syrup
1/4 cup finely grated apple, raw and unpeeled

In a large pot, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring frequently. When it becomes soupy, increase heat and bring to a full boil.

Stir slowly as it cooks for 15 to 20 minutes. It will thicken and darken. Try to get it up to 220 F. (I gave up after it refused to get past about 205 F.)

Pour into prepared canning jars, giving at least 1/4 inch of headspace. Seal and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. (add 10 more minutes if at high elevation).

Apple and Damson Pie

Pearls of Lutra says this pie has crimped edges.

1 uncooked pie crust

3 cups chopped apples
3 cups chopped damson plums
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour (any kind)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all ingredients together. Place in pie crust, evening out the top. Crimp the edges of the crust. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Basic Pie Crust

For double crust:

3/4 cup butter
 2 cup flour (whole wheat, white wheat, whole wheat pastry)
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt

For single crust:
6 Tbls. butter
1 cup flour (white wheat, whole wheat pastry)
1/4 cup water
1/8 tsp. salt

Cut the butter into the flour until it's crumbly and there's no dry powder.

Dissolve the salt into the water, then stir it into the flour and butter. Stir to make a soft dough.

Roll out on a piece of waxed paper dusted with flour. Use flour as necessary on top and bottom to prevent sticking. Roll to 1/8".

Dust the pie tin with flour. Use the waxed paper to flip the crust over into the pie tin. Trim the edges and fill in any holes, etc.

To bake the crust alone, bake at 350 F for 27 minutes. Otherwise, follow pie recipe instructions.

Blackcurrant Sauce

1/2 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup blackcurrant preserves

Blend these together until smooth. Chill before serving.

Hot Arrowroot and Redcurrant Sauce

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup redcurrant jelly
2 tsp. arrowroot powder
2 tsp. water

Whisk together the 1/2 cup water and jelly over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, stir together the arrowroot and remaining water.  When the jelly mixture begins to boil, whisk the arrowroot mixture into it. Let boil for a few minutes, whisking, until the arrowroot is all dissolved, and the sauce becomes thick.

Serve warm.

Damson Crumble and Cream / Damson Crumble with Hot Arrowroot and Redcurrant Sauce

5 cups of damson plums, pitted and quartered
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour (any kind)

1 cup flour (white wheat, whole wheat pastry, or oat flour)
3/4 cup rolled oats
2 Tbls. honey
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Stir together the plums, brown sugar, and flour. Pour into a 9" baking pan.

Stir together the flour, oats, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in the honey, egg, and melted butter. Crumble by hand over the top of the fruit. Bake for 40 minutes.

Serve with cream or with hot arrowroot and redcurrant sauce.

Snacks

Here are some foods mentioned in the books, that don't really need a recipe written for them.

Basic snacks:
Apple and cheese
Barley toast spread with honey
Cinnamon toast
Dried fruits
Gooseberries and cream
Grapes and almonds - In Marlfox, these are wild, seeded grapes
Mixed fruits with honey
Nuts and berries
Oatcakes and cheese toasted together
Strawberries coated in honey
Toasted apples and cheese (roasted over a fire in Rakkety Tam)
Traveling fruit (I didn't write context for this, so maybe it's fruit you take with you traveling, or fruit you pick up while traveling.)
Lots of fruits are eaten off-hand like pears, apples, and berries.

Toppings:
Fresh cream
Maple syrup
Pouring cream (in US, single cream or half-and-half come closest)
Whipped cream

Jams and jellies: (I mention here the kind I've been able to buy at stores)
Blackberry jelly
Blackcurrant jam
Cherry preserve
Gooseberry jam
Raspberry preserve
Redcurrant jelly
Strawberry jam
Quince jam

Cheese: (again, the kinds available commercially, but you can make your own if desired)
Cheddar cheese
Goatsmilk cheese
White cheese
Yellow cheese

Drinks

Here are some drinks mentioned in the Redwall books, that don't really need recipes, or that can easily be purchased.

Teas: You can make these from scratch, but they are easily available tea bags.
Chamomile tea
Mint tea - this is served hot or cold, with honey in it. (The Bellmaker)
Mint and lavender water
Mint water
Rosehip tea

Milk
Buttermilk
Fresh milk
Goatsmilk
Milk with nutmeg grated on top

Cordial
Elderflower cordial (available as saft fläder at Ikea) - mix the syrup with water or carbonated water

Plum Slice with Blackcurrant Sauce

2 cups flour (white wheat, whole wheat pastry, or oat flour)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup flour (as above)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups pureed plums
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. arrowroot powder

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x13" cake pan.

Cut honey and butter into the flour until there is no more fine powder and it can be pressed together into dough. Press dough evenly into the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

When the crust is almost done baking, beat together the flour, sugar, honey, baking powder, plums, eggs, and arrowroot.

Pour the filling over the hot crust, and bake for 25 more minutes.

Serve with blackcurrant sauce.

Crusty Plum Slice

2 cups flour (white wheat, whole wheat pastry, or oat flour)
3 Tbls. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbls. butter
1 egg
2/3 cup milk or nut milk

2 cups pureed plums
1 Tbls. honey
3 tsp. arrowroot powder

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until crumbly.

Beat the egg and combine with the milk, then stir into the flour until just moistened.

Take 1/3 of the dough, add a bunch of flour while kneading to make a soft, cohesive dough. Wrap in waxed paper and freeze until needed later.

Stir together the plums, honey, and arrowroot over medium heat and bring to a low boil.

Press the remaining 2/3 dough into a greased and floured 9" cake pan. Use as much flour as necessary to prevent sticking to your hands (sprinkling flour over the dough and onto your hands). Press onto the bottom of the pan and up the sides for about 1 inch.

When the plum filling is a deep plum color and thickened, pour into the pan over the crust.

Take the chilled dough and roll out thinly, on a floured sheet of waxed paper, big enough to cover the top. Use as much flour as necessary to prevent sticking to the rolling pin and waxed paper.

Use the paper to flip the dough over the top of the filling, and carefully peel off.

Seal the edges of the bottom and top crusts together, removing excess dough. Cut slits in the top.

Bake 25-30 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Plums

Types of plums mentioned in Redwall books:

Plums: A nonspecific term which means you can use whatever plums you want! These red/purple-skinned, yellow-fleshed plums are what I see most often for sale in grocery stores.

Wikipedia

 Wild Plums: Also just use whatever plums you want. I like to use the term "wild" to mean I can mix different types of plum together. I once lived in a city where a very popular tree used for decoration along the streets gave off these little round plums. Totally edible, and they were rarely harvested as they didn't belong to specific properties (or maybe the landlords didn't care and the tenants didn't know they could harvest them). Just fell to the ground and rotted :( I harvested them. Anyway, in the theoretical world of Redwall, I imagine any type of plum can grow wildly.

www.paulwcarlson.com

Greengages:  Green-colored plums.  Wikipedia says: "Greengage fruit are identified by their round-oval shape and smooth-textured, pale green flesh; they are on average smaller than round plums ... The skin ranges in colour from green to yellowish, with a pale blue "blush" in some cultivars; ... [some] are reddish-purple due to crossbreeding with other plums. Greengages are grown in temperate areas and are known for the rich, confectionery flavour. They are considered to be among the finest dessert plums."

Wikipedia

Damsons: A plum with green/yellow flesh and dark blue/light blue skin. (Some of the light blue is wax-bloom--like a powder that can be rubbed off to reveal the darker skin). This is the kind that grows in my yard, so it's mostly what I use. Wikipedia says: "Damsons are relatively small plums with a distinctive, somewhat astringent taste, and are widely used for culinary purposes, particularly in fruit preserves. ... The main characteristic of the damson is its distinctive rich flavour; unlike other plums it is both high in sugars and and highly astringent. The fruit of the damson can also be identified by its shape, which is usually ovoid and slightly pointed at one end, or pyriform; its smooth-textured yellow-green flesh; and its skin, which ranges from dark blue to indigo to near-black depending on the variety (other types of Prunus domestica can have purple, yellow or red skin)."

Wikipedia

Apple and Wild Plum Crumble / Apple and Greengage Crumble / Plum and Apple Crumble

In Mattimeo, this is said to have sweet acorn crumbs in it. I used almonds per my decision against using acorns in general.

Greengage plums can be used to make the apple and greengage crumble mentioned in Outcast of Redwall, which is served with honey thickly spread over it. 

"Plum and apple crumble" is mentioned somewhere. I didn't note the book because there were no specific ingredients or methods mentioned. I figure there's no need to make a different recipe for it.

Filling:
3 cups chopped apples

3 cups chopped plums

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Topping:
1/2 cup flour (whole wheat, whole wheat pastry, white wheat, or oat flour)

3/4 cup nut flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup butter, cold, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 375 F. 

Stir together the apples, plums, brown sugar, and ginger. Put in a 9" baking dish. Stir the oats, flour, and nut flour together. Cut in the honey and butter until there are no more large chunks. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit. 

Bake for 30 minutes.

Acorns.

Acorns are technically edible for humans, but they take a lot of processing to remove the tannins to make them edible, and they still taste terrible. As a Native friend of mine said, you'd only eat acorns if you had nothing else.

So, while a lot of Redwall foods mention acorns as an ingredient, I'm going to use other nuts as substitutes.

Pink Iced Woodland Plum and Spice Cake

2 c. flour (white wheat, or whole wheat pastry)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. honey

1/4 c. cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 eggs
3/4 c. milk or nut milk

10 small plums, pitted
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Stir flour, baking powder, and spices in a mixing bowl. Add butter and honey. Beat on low speed until there are no more large chunks. Add eggs and milk, and beat for 2 minutes at a medium speed.

Cut plums into thin slices and fold into the batter.

Grease and flour an 8 or 9 inch baking pan (square or round). Spread batter into the pan.

Bake at 350°F 35 to 45 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top is golden. Let cool, then turn out onto a serving plate.

Pink icing

1/2 cup light honey

2 Tbls. red fruit juice (cherry, beet, strawberry, raspberry, red wine, etc.)
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Mix honey and fruit juice in a saucepan. Heat to a rolling boil over medium heat. Keep boiling rapidly until it reaches 242 on a candy thermometer, or it forms a firm ball which holds its shape until pressed when dropped in cold water.

As mixture boils, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Pour the hot syrup very slowly in a thin stream into the egg whites, beating constantly on medium speed. Add cinnamon, beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.