Easy Plum Cake - Soft, Moist, and Fuffy
This Austrian plum cake super easy to make and yet the fluffiest, most delicious cake ever!
Yield: 8 x10 inch (25cmx21cm) baking pan (see note)
Ingredients
- About 10-12 small purple Italian plums/prunes (damsons), halved and pitted (see notes for more infos)
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cups (150 g) sugar
- 4 large eggs, separated (at room temperature)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (90 g) sour cream (or about 1/4 cup milk if you don’t have sour cream on hand) (at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- Pinch cinnamon (optional)
- 1 ½ cups (200 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks. Set aside until needed.
- In a separate bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar for a few minutes (no need to clean the beaters from the egg-white).
- Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix until thick and pale, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix until well combined.
- Mix all-purpose flour and baking powder and add to the batter. Mix just until combined.
- Fold in the beaten egg whites.
- Line the baking pan with parchment paper (or grease it) and spread the batter evenly with a spatula.
- Place the halved plums on top, skin side down. You don’t have to push them into the batter as they will sink into the batter while baking.
- Bake the cake for about 25-30 minutes in the center of the 350 °F (175 °C or 160 °C fan) preheated oven until golden. A wooden toothpick, inserted in the middle should come out clean or with a few crumbs clinging to it.
- Let cool and dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Notes
Ingredients at room temperature:
All ingredients should be at room temperature. Forgot to remove eggs and butter from the fridge? Place eggs in a bowl with warm tap water for a few minutes. Cut butter into thin slices or small cubes and let them sit for 5 minutes outside in summer or place the bowl with the butter cubes or slices in the microwave until softened, about 15 seconds.
Plums:
I used damsons (also called Italian prune plums or Empress Plums). Use quality plums that are ripe but not overly soft and juicy yet. You want to use fruits that are more firm than you might select if eating them raw. Usually, those are the easiest to pit and they don’t fall apart into multiple pieces while trying to pit them. If you opt for a different kind of plum, make sure not to use too large ones as they will sink to the bottom of the cake. If using a larger kind, quarter them instead of cutting the plums in half.
Baking pan:
I used a 8x10 inch (25cmx21cm) baking pan but a regular standard 9-by-13 inch (23x33 cm) pan works well too. You will need more plums and the cake might turn out slightly flatter.