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Home » Cakes » Easy Plum Cake

Easy Plum Cake

By Olivia, 32 Comments

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This easy and delicious plum cake is the perfect dessert for summer!

Squares of cake stacked on each other.

My mom has been making this Plum Cake for years. It’s a recipe she got from a friend decades ago, and she makes it every summer when plums are in season. It’s amazing. The perfect mix of sweet and tart. I like to think that it’s a traditional Polish cake recipe, though I have no actual evidence to back that up. It’s definitely not your typical cake recipe, and when my mom was telling me how to make it I was a bit skeptical. What do you mean there’s no butter? 4 or 5 eggs – which is it?? Not to mention that she uses literal cups, not measuring cups, to scoop her flour. “Oh you know, I just use the glass that I drink my coffee in, that much flour.” This goes against everything I learned in pastry school. I like to imagine this is how they did it in the old days in Poland…

Overhead shot os the cake in a cake pan.

Needless to say, my first attempt at this Plum Cake a few weeks ago, though not an epic failure, was less than stellar. The pictures, on the other hand, were an epic failure, and no amount of editing could get them to look decent. I was having such a hard time taking pictures if there was a lot of white in the scene. Everything would turn out super grey. Like, dark grey, even in the best lighting. So frustrating!! Since that experience though, I have mustered up the courage to mess around with manual mode on my camera, and now all is well with the world.

Squares of cake stacked on each other.

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Ok so this Plum Cake. It’s simple. It’s delicious. You should really just make it.

Overhead shot of the cake with some slices cut out.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can use almost any fruit. I think the original actually calls for blueberries, which would be delicious, but I can also imagine peaches, cherries, or raspberries. The possibilities are endless, really.

Your fruit will likely sink to the bottom like my plums did. Well they didn’t actually sink – they started out on the bottom because there wasn’t that much batter, but as the batter doubled in size the plums stayed where they were. I see no issue with fruit on the bottom though, and it tastes every bit as delicious.

I chose to slice the plums and fold them in, but you could also just halve the plums and place them on top of the batter instead, which is what I did the first time. It didn’t look as pretty as I thought it would, and the plum distribution wasn’t the best, so I tried slicing them this time instead, and I think it came out better.

Squares of cake stacked on each other.

For this attempt, I halved the recipe and used an 8″ x 8″ pan, but it can easily be doubled and done in a 9″ x 13″ pan. Your cake will likely be a bit thicker in the bigger pan, but still equally delicious.

A piece of cake sitting on top of a table

The cake actually baked up a lot lighter and fluffier than I expected. The first time I made this, it was a lot more dense, which is how it is when my mom makes it. I’m not really sure why, maybe the pan size? Or that I added more sugar this time? Regardless, if you follow the recipe below, you will not be disappointed. A perfectly light, super moist, sweet & tart cake awaits you. All you need is a simple dusting of powdered sugar and you’re good to go!

Squares of cake stacked on each other.
Print Rate
4.8 from 5 votes

Plum Cake

A light and delicious plum cake, perfect for summers or afternoon tea. 
Course Dessert
Cuisine Cake
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 9
Calories 156kcal
Author Olivia

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 plums sliced
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F and spray an 8" x 8" pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment.
  • Whisk flour and baking powder in a small bowl, set aside.
  • In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat eggs and sugar on high until pale and fluffy (approx. 5mins).
  • Reduce speed to medium and slowly stream in oil and vanilla. Beat on high until well combined (2-3mins).
  • Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture. Mix just until combined.
  • Fold in sliced plums and spread in prepared pan.
  • Bake for 30-35mins until golden and a cake tester comes out almost clean.
  • Cool completely in pan. Dust with powdered sugar.

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Notes

Recipe can be doubled to fit a 9" x 13" pan and baking time will need to increase to 45mins or so.
Calories: 156kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 2gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 16mgPotassium: 63mgSugar: 12gVitamin A: 110IUVitamin C: 1.4mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 0.7mg
The nutritional information and metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or metric conversion tool.

photo collage.

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June 14, 2015

Comments

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Johanne says

    October 7, 2020 at 1:40 PM

    Curious would using mashed plums also work? I have 3 cups of mashed plums!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      October 8, 2020 at 9:41 AM

      Hi Johanne! I haven’t tried it with mashed, but if you spoon them on top of the cake batter and just leave the dollops it might turn out ok. Let me know if you try it!

      Reply
  2. Laura says

    September 12, 2020 at 4:01 PM

    5 stars
    Just made this and it’s awesome! Thank you for an easy recipe that tastes so good. ❣️

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      September 14, 2020 at 11:11 AM

      Yay! So happy you loved it, Laura 🙂

      Reply
  3. Suzanne says

    January 14, 2020 at 6:25 PM

    This cake looks lovely. Would it freeze well?

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      January 15, 2020 at 10:14 AM

      Hi Suzanne! I think it would freeze “ok”. A lot of the water will have baked out of the plums, but not all of it — freezing could make them mushy (but they already kind of are). I haven’t tried freezing it myself as it never lasts long enough! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Lynn says

    September 23, 2019 at 6:43 AM

    Please send me an e-mail reply. I would love to try this recipe and I recently discovered I have a Sand Hill Plum tree! Do you just wash, halve & pit the plums and then use them. Or do you have to remove the skins? I’m a new baker (city girl who moved to the farm). Thanks!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      September 23, 2019 at 10:44 AM

      Hi Lynn! I sent you an email but replying here in case others have the same question. I leave the skins on 🙂

      Reply
  5. Victoria Mihalenko says

    July 28, 2019 at 12:31 PM

    Made this today with a plum and apricot taste. Was delicious. Recipe is a keeper!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      July 29, 2019 at 11:45 AM

      Hi Victoria! So glad you liked it!

      Reply
    • Joe says

      August 17, 2019 at 11:16 AM

      I love this, am making it now, it’s one of my favorites. I also have used strawberries. Just like strawberry shortcake and vanilla ice cream.

      Reply
      • Olivia says

        August 19, 2019 at 9:57 AM

        Hi Joe! So happy to hear you love it 🙂

        Reply
  6. Jan says

    May 26, 2019 at 3:29 PM

    Could I make this with dried plums? I was thinking about chopping the plums and maybe soaking them in warm water for s bit
    Jan

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      May 28, 2019 at 9:40 AM

      Hi Jan! I haven’t tried it myself, but I think it could work ok. Let me know if you try it 🙂

      Reply
  7. Maria says

    February 22, 2019 at 10:40 PM

    4 stars
    I made this today but subbed in gluten free flour. It was lovely and light. My plums were a bit tart so I could have added a bit more sugar. I also coated the plums in a little bit of flour and I found that they didn’t sink to the bottom. Would be nice with peaches, apricots or cherries.

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      February 23, 2019 at 12:45 PM

      Hi Maria! So glad you liked it, thanks for your feedback!

      Reply
  8. Susan says

    October 14, 2018 at 1:59 PM

    5 stars
    Made this yesterday for an Octoberfest party. Big hit and easy to make. Will definitely make this one again!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      October 14, 2018 at 5:07 PM

      So happy to hear that you liked it, Susan!

      Reply
  9. Briana says

    September 20, 2016 at 1:59 PM

    5 stars
    I saw this on Pinterest today and had to make it. It is so easy and tastes so good. I like that it isn’t overly sweet. I didn’t have vegetable oil so I had to use extra virgin olive oil. It still tasted great. I also made a mistake and mixed the sugar with the other dry ingredients instead of the eggs. It didn’t seem to affect the taste or texture. I agree that the recipe seems to be European in origin, but I have never been to Europe so I can’t begin to tell you from what country. I look forward to trying it with other fruit.

    So, if you want a fast, easy, delicious and not overly sweet dessert – this is it.

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      September 20, 2016 at 2:37 PM

      Hi Briana! I’m so glad you liked this recipe. It was one of my favourites growing up! I definitely want to try it with other fruit as well.

      Reply
    • B says

      February 14, 2020 at 1:07 PM

      I didn’t have vegetable oil so I subbed in coconut oil! I’ll have to try it to compare – but it turned out to work really well with the coconut oil – everyone loved it!

      Reply
      • Olivia says

        February 14, 2020 at 2:56 PM

        Awesome! Coconut oil should work just fine, it will just affect the flavour slightly 🙂

        Reply
  10. Brittany says

    November 25, 2015 at 9:22 PM

    5 stars
    Thank you for sharing this recipe! Made this with figs for thanksgiving, it was a hit.

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      November 25, 2015 at 9:41 PM

      Ooooh, sounds delicious! Glad you liked it! 😀

      Reply
  11. Nancy @ gottagetbaked says

    June 15, 2015 at 5:11 PM

    These photos are gorgeous, Liv, and the cake looks beautiful, light and fluffy. I need to learn how to use my manual camera too – especially when it comes to white balance. You did a fantastic job with this photo shoot and with converting your mom’s literal cups into proper baking cup measurements.

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      June 16, 2015 at 10:54 AM

      Thanks Nancy! I’m still trying to figure out proper settings for each shoot, but manual mode has made a huge difference so far.

      Reply
  12. Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says

    June 15, 2015 at 10:24 AM

    Gotta love getting old recipes from a parent or relatives! I’ve had the same experience with a few recipes I asked my mom for 🙂

    This recipe is indeed pretty! I love that the fruit is interchangeable.

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      June 15, 2015 at 11:30 AM

      Thanks Gwen! I can’t wait to try this one with some more summer fruit while it’s in season :).

      Reply
      • Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says

        June 15, 2015 at 8:08 PM

        Forgot to mention…your photos are beautiful. Manual is definitely key. I *think* I’ve finally gotten the hang of it 🙂 Have fun experimenting with it!

        Reply
        • Olivia says

          June 16, 2015 at 10:52 AM

          Thanks so much Gwen! 😀

          Reply
  13. Julia (@imagelicious) says

    June 14, 2015 at 6:52 PM

    ehen I saw this picture on your Instagram, I thought it was similar to my recipe. And it is quite similar. My recipe doesn’t include oil. Your pictures are amazing!!!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      June 14, 2015 at 7:48 PM

      Thank you Julia!! 😀

      Reply
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