Plum Cake is an elegant yet easy fruit cake recipe, perfect for late summer! It’s a moist lemon vanilla cake with sliced fresh plums baked on top.
Fresh seasonal plums transform a classic Vanilla Cake into a beautiful cake that can be dessert for a special occasion or a fruity Coffee Cake at summer brunch. For another simple cake recipe made with stone fruit, check out my Peach Cake!
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Sabrina’s Plum Cake Recipe
My Plum Cake is an easy dessert recipe made with simple ingredients from your pantry, plus fresh summer plums. The moist, vanilla-flavored cake is lighter than most coffee cakes, made with less than a stick of butter and only 1 egg, so it’s closer to a sponge cake in texture. It gets some fresh lemon juice and zest to compliment the juicy fruit. The plums are arranged in a circular pattern on top of the cake batter before baking for a gorgeous design that also works to flavor the cake more and keep it super moist.
The sweet, fresh plum topping really sets this recipe apart and makes it one of the best sponge cakes. The plum wedges are tossed in sugar and then placed on top of the cake batter. During baking, the natural sweet, tart juices from the plums seep into the batter, creating a more flavorful sponge. The sugar caramelizes on the outer part of the plums for a sweet, slightly crispy edge protecting the juicy plums and tender vanilla cake. The entire bite is sugary, rich, buttery, fruity goodness!
Ingredients
- Plums: Juicy, lovely plums are the star of this simple yet delicious cake! You can use any type of plum that is ripe, but the most popular and widely available are Japanese plums, which come in a variety of colors from blue plums to dark purple plums to bright red plums.
- Unsalted Butter: This cake recipe uses just enough butter to give it moisture and a light buttery flavor without weighing it down. Soft butter always creams better with sugar and eggs, so ensure it’s room temperature.
- Sugar: The granulated sugar sweetens the cake while also helping keep it moist and light. You could swap half the granulated sugar with brown sugar for a slight caramel flavor but don’t use all brown sugar, or the cake will be heavy.
- Egg: Again, this is meant to be a lighter, almost sponge cake recipe, so it only needs one whole egg to add structure and trap moisture. Room-temperature eggs create more air as they are mixed in, so let them sit out a bit before starting.
- Lemon: Fresh lemon juice and zest add a bright, citrusy flavor to the simple vanilla cake batter. The tart lemon enhances the natural sweetness and fruity flavor of stone fruits like plums.
- Whole Milk: Whole milk adds moisture to the cake, making it extra tender and soft without making it overly rich or dense. For a slightly tangy flavor that will still give you a lighter texture, you can use sour cream instead of whole milk.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- 9-inch Springform Cake Pan: A springform pan has removable sides so this cake is easy to remove and serve.
- Stand Mixer: You’ll need either a stand or an electric hand mixer to cream and mix the wet and dry ingredients.
- Wire Rack: A wire rack, also known as a cooling rack, allows the cake to cool before it is removed from the springform pan.
How to Make
Time needed: 1 hour and 10 minutes.
- Prep:
Preheat the oven and grease a standard 9-inch springform pan.
- Wet Ingredients
Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer bowl on medium speed first, then raise the speed for a couple of minutes. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and zest.
- Dry ingredients:
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. In alternating amounts, add the flour mixture and milk until just combined.
- Transfer to Pan
Pour the cake batter into your springform pan and use a rubber spatula to smooth and even the top.
- Assemble
Coat the plums in sugar in a medium bowl, then arrange the slices cut side down on the batter in a circular pattern, starting at the springform edge and working inwards.
- Bake
Top the plums and cake with coarse sugar and bake in a preheated oven for 55-60 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool and Serve
Cool for 10 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. Cool on a wire rack.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup whole milk
Plum Topping:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 8 plums , pitted and cut into wedges
- 2 tablespoons coarse sanding sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray.
- To your stand mixer add butter and sugar on medium speed, then raise to high speed for 2 minutes.
- Add in egg, vanilla extract, lemon zest, lemon juice and beat until well blended.
- Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the stand mixer in alternating amounts with the milk until just combined.
- Spread the batter evenly in your springform pan.
- In a medium bowl add the plums and sugar and stir to coat.
- Place the plums cut side down onto the top of the cake batter in a circular/rose pattern.
- Top with coarse sanding sugar.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note: A Perfect Late Summer Cake
Plum Cake, also known as Plum Torte, is an elegant yet simple cake that’s perfect for late summer and early fall when fresh plums are in abundance. Plums’ sweet and slightly tart flavor pairs perfectly with the moist lemon vanilla cake, making this a crowd-pleaser that fits in at a fancy brunch as much as a casual summer BBQ.
Can this be made ahead of time?
You can prepare a Plum Cake in advance by baking it and then storing it in the freezer or fridge. The plums can also be sliced and tossed in sugar up to 2 days before. However, you want to bake the cake batter soon after preparing it. To prepare a baked Plum Cake for long-term storage, remove it from the springform pan and let it cool completely. Wrap the cake in two layers of plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and keep it in the back of your freezer.
Nutrition Facts
Baking Tips & Tricks
- Ensure the plums are ripe but not overly soft. Overripe plums can become mushy during baking, while underripe plums might not release enough flavor.
- Measure ingredients accurately. Accurate measurement of ingredients is crucial for baking. Use a kitchen scale for precise measurements, especially for flour and sugar.
- Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. This helps maintain a smooth batter and prevents curdling.
Toppings for Plum Cake
- Creamy Toppings: The buttery cake and fruity flavors make this a delicious cake all on its own, but it also tastes amazing with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream or a dollop of Whipped Cream.
- Fruit Toppings: Complement the fruity elements in the plum cake with even more fruit as a topping. A warm fruit compote like Apple Pie Filling or cool fresh berries would work nicely. Bring out the lemon flavor of the cake with some Lemon Curd.
How to Store
- Serve: This tasty Plum Cake can be kept covered at room temperature for 3-4 days at room temperature.
- Store: You can also keep leftover cake in the fridge for up to a week, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or an airtight container.
- Freeze: Wrap the cooled cake in two layers of plastic wrap, either the whole cake or individual slices, and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bring to room temperature to serve.
Frequent Questions
First, it’s important to note that this recipe is for a Fresh Plum Cake, meaning it has fresh plum wedges baked on top of a vanilla cake batter. There is also “plum cake,” or Plum Pudding, an old-fashioned Christmas fruit cake made with dried fruit like currants, sultanas, prunes, or raisins, and it doesn’t necessarily have plums in it. The difference between the cakes and fresh plums is the cake itself. Plum Cake recipes like this are made with a buttery, lighter vanilla cake, while Plum Pudding Cake has a heavily spiced cake and sometimes an alcohol soak, similar to traditional Fruit Cake.
It is not necessary to peel plums for baking this dessert recipe, as the skins become tender when baked and add to the cake’s texture.
Plum cake may turn out dry if it is overbaked, not enough liquid is used in the recipe, or too few plums are used. Plums release moisture as they bake and help keep the cake moist.
The best type of plum for Plum Cake is ripe but firm plums with a good balance of sweetness and acidity, plus thin skin made for eating. The most common are Japanese plum varieties with various colors, from bright blue plums to orange-red plums to blackish purple plums. However, if you can find them, Italian plums would make this cake extra fancy and special!
While fresh plums are recommended for this recipe, canned plums can be used in a pinch. Drain them well before using and adjust the amount of sugar used in the recipe accordingly if they are sweetened.
Variations
- Spiced Plum Cake: For the holidays, make this a warmly spiced cake. Replace the lemon juice and zest with a teaspoon of cinnamon and ½ teaspoon each of nutmeg and ground cardamom. Add another teaspoon of cinnamon to the sugar coating for the plums.
- Plum Berry: Plums go deliciously with fresh berries, especially fresh blueberries! Fold a ½ cup fresh blueberries into the cake batter, then press some blueberries between the plum slices on top.
- Almond Plum Cake: For an almond-flavored, gluten-free version of plum cake, swap the regular flour for almond flour in the cake batter. Swap 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for 1 teaspoon almond extract, and top the cake with sliced almonds along with the plums.
- Streusel Plum Cake: A popular German recipe for Plum Cake calls for baking it with a crumbly streusel made from butter, sugar, flour, and cinnamon, which is then sprinkled over the plums before baking.
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