Description
This Plum Cake is a delightful dessert featuring a soft, buttery cake base studded with halved fresh plums and topped with a sweet, cinnamon-spiced crumble. Perfectly balanced with hints of vanilla and lemon zest, this cake offers a moist texture and fruity freshness, making it an ideal treat for any occasion.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Cake
- 125 grams / 3/4 cup + 1 teaspoon plain flour
- 4 grams / 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 125 grams / 2/3 cup superfine/caster sugar
- 2 grams / 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 grams / 1 teaspoon lemon zest finely chopped
- 125 grams / 4.4 ounces butter softened
- 110 grams / 2 large eggs room temperature
- 800 grams / 1.76 pounds plums washed and halved
Crumble Topping
- 150 grams / 1 cup - 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 100 grams / 1/2 cup superfine/caster sugar
- 100 grams / 3.5 ounces butter cubed and softened
- 1 gram / 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Prepare the Oven and Cake Tin: Preheat your oven to 180C/350F and greaseproof a springform cake tin to ensure the cake releases easily after baking.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a bowl, combine the plain flour and baking powder by stirring them together thoroughly.
- Create the Cake Batter: Add sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest, softened butter, and eggs to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until the batter is smooth and no dry flour remains at the bottom of the bowl.
- Assemble the Cake Base: Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake tin, smoothing the surface with a spatula.
- Add Plums: Press the washed and halved plums cut side down evenly into the cake batter, distributing them uniformly for even fruit coverage.
- Make the Crumble Topping: In a separate bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and ground cinnamon. Add cubed, softened butter and use your fingers or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Top the Cake: Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the arranged plums on the batter.
- Bake the Cake: Place the cake into the preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Cool and Serve: Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin before carefully releasing the springform sides. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Vanilla extract and lemon zest: These two ingredients add essential depth and enhance the flavors of the cake base; omitting either is not recommended.
- Plums: Fresh plums are preferred for their ideal sweetness and texture. Frozen plums can be used if defrosted and any excess moisture is strained out to prevent sogginess.
- Cake tin: A 20 cm (8 inch) springform cake tin helps with easy removal, but a standard cake tin of similar size can also be used.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/10th of cake)
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 22 g
- Sodium: 75 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg
