Almond Plum Cake. A quick & easy upside down cake made with an almond cake batter and sweet seasonal plums. Delicious served warm with vanilla ice cream!
Almond Plum Cake
My neighbour Elisabeth always seems to be looking for prune plums at this time of year. They can be a little difficult to find around here because they generally come from Southern Ontario when they are in season.
She makes a plum upside down cake with them based on a recipe from one of Bonnie Stern’s cookbooks and she’s right to insist on these little gems of plums for this type of recipe. They are a perfect combination of tart and sweet and were just delicious in this cake.
When I looked at Elisabeth’s recipe, it was very similar to one that I use for my Old Fashioned Apple Upside Down Cake, so I wanted to mix up the cake flavour just a little to perhaps compliment the plums even more.
Prune Plums for Almond Plum Cake
I had a surplus of slivered almonds on hand that were crying out to be used , so in went some of those with a little almond extract to boost the flavour even more. It was a delicious choice!
The cake I decided to make in what UK super baker Mary Berry refers to as an all-in-one method. I just got the Mary Berry’s Baking Bible
I saw her use the method on one of her TV series when she was a making a classic Victoria Sandwich Cake. It’s very similar to just making a cake mix: everything goes in, mix and bake.
It is super easy but you have to me careful not to over mix, which will build the gluten in the flour and toughen the cake texture. The secret is to do it very quickly, as is described in this recipe, and it will work like a charm.
Almond Plum Cake
I like this cake best when still a little warm from the oven. We served it with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and it was just sublime. I might just be fighting Elisabeth for those prune plums every summer at the supermarket now, although I think any small plum could be used as a delicious substitute.
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Almond Plum Cake
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- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 12 prune plums or enough to cover the bottom of a 9x9 pan
- 2 cups flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup ground almonds
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup milk
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Mix together the melted butter, brown sugar and vanilla.
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Spread evenly on the bottom of a lightly greased 9x9 baking pan.
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Cut the prune plums in half and remove the pits.
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Lay the plums, face side down on top of the butter and brown sugar mixture.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the flour, sugar, almonds and baking powder.
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Add the eggs, melted butter, oil, milk, vanilla extract and almond extract all at once.
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Blend on slow speed, just until the liquid ingredients are incorporated, and then on high speed for only about 20 seconds.
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Quickly spread the batter evenly over the prepared plums.
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Bake at 350 degrees F (325 for glass bakeware) for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
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Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a serving patter or wire rack to cool off.
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Serve with whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream with toasted almonds as a garnish.
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Had some Italian prune plums given to me recently and was so happy when I saw the almond plum cake recipe this morning.Immediately set out to bake it and like all your other recipes it was delicious.Another keeper!! Thanks
I will definitely make this. I used to have a plum and cake recipe but can’t find it. Thank you Barry😀
Delicious! It reminds me of a cake my Grandma used to make. I think the recipe would also be great with other fruit like apricots or cherries – I’ll try one of those next time I make it.