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 cake was absolutely delicious, more savory, less sweet! I used a half cup granulated sugar, half cup monkfruit sweetener inside the batter and granulated sugar on top. Makes a small cake, perfect for six, can stretch it with vanilla bean or other neutral ice cream. Will be making this one again soon, maybe even trying different fruit although the plums were gorgeous, thank you! (I used the small Italian plums).
I also made it with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup monk fruit sweetener. It turned out great, as usual. I’ve made this cake numerous times as directed. I thought would try it less sweet this time. It was still sweet enough! Thanks Jenn!
Very easy recipe and plums were in season. Got the big plums. Just right and was delicious the first time I made it so this is my second time. I love the taste of this cake. Thank You.
Best plumcake ever! Easy to make. Even if I had to change to metric, as I live in Sweden.
Lovely. First time I made exactly as written. Then I adapted to use with my home ec class. I halved the recipe except used the original amount of nutmeg and double the amount of cardamom. Each group made in 3 mini spring form pans. This also allowed a shorter cooking time. They were super cute and very tasty. I used prune plums off my backyard tree. Thanks for a great recipe!
Jen, can I use gluten free flour??? I am guessing yes.
Hi Kate, I think it should be fine. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Very, very good. My oven runs on the hot side so I baked mine for 55 minutes. I thought I would bake it a little less the next time I make it but my husband says it’s perfect!
Do you think this would work with figs?
So glad you like this, Tish! Yes, I do think it would work with figs.
I made this yesterday and took along to a group. It was well-loved! And I really enjoyed it too! I used Greek yogurt with a bit of water, instead of the milk. What a delightful cake! Thank you!
I absolutely love the flavours in this cake, however, mine didn’t rise as much as expected and had a bit of a biscuity texture rather than moist. I think I went wrong using self raising flour instead of all purpose.
Yes, for the best results, I’d use all-purpose flour. Hope you enjoy it more next time around. 🙂
I made this cake at 5000ft altitude after buying some plums at the local farmers’ market, which ripened too quickly. I made the cake by hand (no cake mixer) and scattered a handful of toasted walnuts over the cake batter before topping with my very mushy plums. I adjusted the recipe for altitude as described elsewhere on this site. The cake was just superb, delicious!! Thank you for your wonderful, never fail recipes!
Best cake ever. I can’t get enough of it. At 3 a.m. this morning I finally gave in. I baked it early evening so I thought I would wait but at 3 here I sat enjoying this delicious cake. I’m out of plums but there are apples so the next one will have apples. Every recipe I’ve made from this site has been delicious. Thank you!
This cake turned out perfect. The smell as it was baking was divine. I bought a basket of blue plums and am going to make two more cakes to give to family. Excellent with a cup of tea.
I have yet to pick a Once Upon A Chef recipe that hasn’t turned out delicious.