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
This easy plum cake recipe is rustic, cozy, and just as good with your morning coffee as it is with dessert.
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
- 8 tablespoons (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk (low-fat is fine)
- 1 pound plums, pitted and quartered
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9-inch springform pan. (Alternatively, the cake may be made in a 9-inch 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 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.
- Storage: This cake keeps well, loosely covered at room temperature, for several days.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place it in heavy-duty freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 344
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 54g
- Sugar: 35g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 4g
- Sodium: 231mg
- Cholesterol: 55mg
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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Comments
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This was a fantastic cake – it looked beautiful and tasted great. We didn’t have all of the spices so stuck with only cinnamon. The house smelled amazing. The cake took about 80 minutes to cook in my oven but all ovens are different. Definitely making this again as it is a great way to use in-season plums.
Made this today for my boyfriend’s birthday cake and he loved it! Because he’s diabetic, I did change out a few things; I used gluten-free flour, 3/4 Stevia and 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbls sugar, 1/2 tsp Gram Marsala in place of the cardamon, 1/2 tsp allspice, dotted to top with butter, and sliced the plums much thinner than in quarters. Served it with sugar free vanilla ice cream. It looked as lovely as it tasted! I wish I could leave a picture!
Wonderful cake. I did not have any cardamon so I added a bit more cinnamon. I also did not have a 9 inch springform pan so used a regular 9 inch cake pan. It was a bit difficult to remove but in the end, all was well. This is a photo perfect cake which fills the house with beautiful aromas. The taste (with vanilla ice cream) was perfection. I thought I would have enough to freeze after the dinner party – alas there was none left. I guess I shall have to make another cake to test the freezing.
Thank you for a ‘keeper’ recipe.
This recipe makes a delightful cake and I’m making two of them right now (one to give away and one to keep). My husband loved the first one. It included only made two small changes. I didn’t sprinkle the top with sugar and I used a combination of fruits because that is what I had. It included peaches, plums and some blueberries scattered in the empty spots. The spices were perfect and we totally enjoyed it with vanilla ice cream and just by itself. The lovely fruits made it just sweet enough. Thank you for this great recipe!
This is lovely. Right now, my house smells amazing and the cake is beautiful. It’s easy to put together and you can customize the spice mix to suit YOUR tastes (I switched up the amount of cardamon and nutmeg, because I like cardamon).
Can I use nonfat milk?
Sure, Tracy, that’s fine – enjoy!
I’ve never before taken the time to leave a comment, and I cook/bake a lot… but this cake is so incredible that I just had to!
Followed the recipe (except I swapped milk for almond milk since that’s all I had) and it came out soooooo delicious. My husband and I both kind of freaked out! Perfect balance of flavors: sweetness mixed with a slight tartness of the plums and the perfect spices. It’s also light and moist. YUM!
Thank you for this amazing recipe; will be making this again for sure.
*Would make a great holiday dessert too with the spices.
this is an amazing recipe, i made it exactly as written and it was delicious. it went faster than any cake i have made. thank you!!
All of my family enjoyed this plum cake, even our grandchild who seems to thrive on only sausages and fruit! I ground my own spices but more nutmeg and just the seeds of cardamon pods. Thanks.
Great recipe, made it today. Enjoyed greatly.
What size springform pan is needed? I want to bake this tonight.
Hi Barbara, you’ll need a 9-inch springform.