Late Summer Plum Cake
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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.
You may also Like
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.
See more recipes:
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
My neighbor gave me 3 lbs if plums the other day. I made a double batch of this cake in a parchment lined 11×17 pan (it has to bake a bit longer). It is so delicious!
Got fresh plums sent to us may my sister in law. My boyfriend says it’s at the top of the list of things I’ve made. It is surprisingly delicious! Will make it whenever I can
Made this a day in advance to serve tonight. The cake has gotten kind of wet and mushy. Any tricks to bring back the nice crustiness of the top of the cake? Should I warm in the oven?
Eileen
Yep pop it back in the oven for a bit to warm up 🙂
Absolutely delicious cake, very moist and light with the beautifully delicate spice flavour.
Easy and quick to make
This is an utterly fantastic recipe! Clearly the best plum cake I have ever tried- my husband can’t get enough of it.
This cake has a very high deliciousness-to-difficulty ratio — it’s super-easy to make, and tastes wonderful. It’s not extremely sweet, and the different textures make it very satisfying.
Simply amazing. One slice is not enough! Thanks again for another great recipe.
I made this cake in memory of my mother in law Mimi who always made a late summer plum cake. This was so delicious and easy to make. I hid a small piece and had it for breakfast today. Great with my coffee. Love Jennifer’s recipes.
Do you think I could successfully use white whole wheat flour? Any thoughts on how it’d change the texture or density of this cake?
Hi Kat, I do think you could get away with white whole wheat here. The texture will be a bit different with it, so if you’d like the minimize the impact on the texture, I’d suggest using half all-purpose and half white whole wheat. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn,
I have made many of your recipes and they are wonderful! I was wondering if sour cream could be substituted for the milk in the recipe for the Late Summer Plum Cake?
So glad you like the recipes! Unfortunately, sour cream wouldn’t be a good substitute for the milk here — sorry!
Jenn,
What’s your take on recipes that call for unsalted butter but have salt in the recipe? I just use salted butter and cut down on the salt. I’m curious on your thoughts! Thanks.
Hi Kari, The primary reason that recipes call for unsalted butter but also include salt is that the amount of salt in salted butter varies by brand. This makes it harder to calibrate the rest of your seasoning in the recipe. While it varies by brand, most salted butter has approximately 1/4 tsp. salt per stick, so you can use the salted butter and reduce the salt in the recipe as needed. Hope that helps!