This easy and delicious plum cake is the perfect dessert for summer!
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…
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.
Ok so this Plum Cake. It’s simple. It’s delicious. You should really just make it.
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.
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.
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!
Plum Cake
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
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
Suzanne says
This cake looks lovely. Would it freeze well?
Olivia says
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! 🙂
Lynn says
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!
Olivia says
Hi Lynn! I sent you an email but replying here in case others have the same question. I leave the skins on 🙂
Victoria Mihalenko says
Made this today with a plum and apricot taste. Was delicious. Recipe is a keeper!
Olivia says
Hi Victoria! So glad you liked it!
Joe says
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.
Olivia says
Hi Joe! So happy to hear you love it 🙂
Jan says
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
Olivia says
Hi Jan! I haven’t tried it myself, but I think it could work ok. Let me know if you try it 🙂
Maria says
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.
Olivia says
Hi Maria! So glad you liked it, thanks for your feedback!
Susan says
Made this yesterday for an Octoberfest party. Big hit and easy to make. Will definitely make this one again!
Olivia says
So happy to hear that you liked it, Susan!
Briana says
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.
Olivia says
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.
B says
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!
Olivia says
Awesome! Coconut oil should work just fine, it will just affect the flavour slightly 🙂
Brittany says
Thank you for sharing this recipe! Made this with figs for thanksgiving, it was a hit.
Olivia says
Ooooh, sounds delicious! Glad you liked it! 😀
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
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.
Olivia says
Thanks Nancy! I’m still trying to figure out proper settings for each shoot, but manual mode has made a huge difference so far.
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
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.
Olivia says
Thanks Gwen! I can’t wait to try this one with some more summer fruit while it’s in season :).
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
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!
Olivia says
Thanks so much Gwen! 😀
Julia (@imagelicious) says
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!!!
Olivia says
Thank you Julia!! 😀