Late Summer Plum Cake
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Gently spiced, this jammy plum cake celebrates the summer-into-fall season. Serve it for brunch or dessert.
Taking a cue from Martha Stewart’s fresh strawberry cake (a favorite on this site), this plum cake is the perfect dessert for late summer when plums are at their prime. Tucked into the batter, the fruit bakes into rich, jammy pockets, while warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom add a hint of cozy fall flavors. Enjoy this dessert any time of day—plain and simple with a cup of coffee, or topped with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
“A wonderful cake! The spices really make it stand out and the plums cut through to make the whole thing sing!”
What you’ll need to make Plum Cake
- Flour, baking powder, and salt – Your dry base to give the cake structure.
- Warm spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom) – Just enough to give the cake a cozy, fall-like flavor.
- Butter and sugar – Creamed together until light and fluffy for that tender crumb. A little sugar is also sprinkled over the top so the cake gets a caramelized finish.
- Egg and vanilla – Bind the batter and add depth of flavor.
- Milk – Any kind you have on hand works here; low-fat is fine.
- Plums – Ripe but firm, pitted and quartered so they bake into jammy little pockets.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt together. Set the mixture aside.
Step 2: Cream butter and sugar. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until pale and fluffy—it should take a few minutes.
Step 3: Add the egg and vanilla. Beat on low speed until evenly combined.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients and milk. Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, and beat on low speed until smooth.
Step 5: Transfer the batter to the pan. Scrape the batter into a greased springform pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. As you can see, the batter is quite thick.
Step 6: Top with plums. Arrange the sliced plums on top of the batter, skin side up, in a circular pattern so that they cover most of the cake. Then sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the plums.
Step 7: Bake. Bake the cake for 60 to 70 minutes, until golden on top and set in the center.
Step 8: Cool and serve. Once the cake comes out of the oven, run a knife around the edges and release the springform side (leave the base in place). Let it cool completely on a rack, then slice and enjoy.
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Late Summer Plum Cake
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons tablespoons sugar, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk (any kind)
- 1 lb plums, pitted and quartered
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9-in (23-cm) springform pan. (Alternatively, the cake may be made in a 9-in/23-cm cake pan or pie pan and served directly from the pan.)
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, cream the butter and 1 cup (200 g) of the sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, and beat on low speed until smooth. (Note: the batter will be quite thick.)
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Arrange the plums on top, skin side up, in a circular pattern so that they mostly cover the batter. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the plums.
- Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until golden on top and set in the center.
- When the cake is hot out of the oven, run a knife around the edges of the pan and then remove the springform edge, leaving the base in place (if using a springform pan). Let the cake cool on a rack completely. Slice and serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired. The cake keeps well, loosely covered at room temperature, for several days.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This is one of my favorite recipes! It is simply perfect. I do add chopped nuts to the top for a little crunch.
Would it be at all possible to adapt this into muffins, adding a slice or two of plum per muffin and baking it for less time?
Hi Claire, I think you could use this for muffins, but I’d dice them instead of slice them. You could also use this recipe and replace the blueberries with plums.
Divine flavors! Easy to make.
What can I say? Make this cake–you will not be disappointed. I was a little worried about how it would turn out as I used plums that I froze last summer, plus I was using my brand-new convection oven for the very first time. My fears were groundless. This cake is so moist, with just enough sweetness to keep the plums from being too tart. Or maybe it’s got just enough tartness to keep the cake from being too sweet. Whichever it is, it is absolutely delicious.
Jenn,
Instead of the springform pan, can we make this in a buttered 9-inch deep dish pie pan like we do the strawberry cake?
Joy
Yes, Joy, I think that should work. Please LMK how it turns out!
This is one of the best cakes we have ever tasted.
I have made it several times, using both value-brand firm plums and over-ripe ones.
(In the UK where we live you can buy a punnet of ripen-at-home for 59p so I really like to use them in baking. Other fruits and berries are really expensive, especially blueberries and cherries which are around £10-12 per kilo.)
Once baked, the firm plums turn ripe and juicy, but the over-ripe plums are out of this world – my mum kept asking if I put marzipan in it!
Thank you, Jenn!
Your website is my go-to place for recipes – everything always tastes so good and this cake recipe is no exception. I just wanted to comment, though, that the 70 mins bake time seems a bit excessive – I’ve made this cake three times and have never left it in the oven longer than 40 mins at 350. Maybe my oven is just weirdly hot or something! Anyway, regardless – thanks for another great recipe!
Did not love it; taste was ok but dry. Should have bake it for less than 60 minutes.
I just made this for company last night. Because our friend is diabetic, I used monkfruit for the cup of sugar. I did add the 2 Tbsp of ‘regular’ sugar on top. And the only milk I had was almond milk. Excellent, delicious! As I have more plums left (thawed from the fall bounty) I’m going to make another one today and add cherries also. Then freeze! So glad I found this recipe!
I’ve made this recipe 3 times and it comes out the same every time. The cake is light and not too sweet, the plums are dense, fruity and a bit tart. I reduced the cinnamon (because I’m not a great fan) and increased the cardamom, a delicious combination of flavours.