jadesfood
Plums are in season in summer! In Japan, you can find lots of different kinds of plums in grocery stores from June to August. I love to turn them into delicious cakes and puddings, especially when they are locally produced and fresh. This plum crumble cake is so easy to make because it’s made with oil, not butter. You don’t need to melt butter to make crumble topping. The topping gives the cake a crunchy texture and the slightly sour plums balance out with the sweetness of the cake. If you are looking for a cake recipe that is best for the teatime in the summer afternoon, this is exactly what you want!
Ingredients You will Need
For the Crumble
Demerara sugar – You can use soft brown sugar if you can’t find demerara sugar.
Plain flour – Any kind of plain flour is fine.
Flavourless oil – I like to use rapeseed oil but any type of flavourless oil is great.
Salt – Sea salt makes a big difference in your baked goods!
For the Cake
Sugar – If you don’t want to use granulated sugar in your cake, use soft brown sugar.
Flavourless oil – I like to use rapeseed oil but any type of flavourless oil is great.
Egg – Free-range egg is great for the cake.
Milk or Plant-based milk – I use soy milk but dairy milk is perfect too.
Plain flour – Any kind of plain flour is fine.
Baking powder – You need some baking powder to rise your cake.
Salt – Sea salt is great to enhance the flavour of any cake.
Plum – You can use any type of plum for your plum cake.
Step-by-Step Guide
For the Crumble
1 Put plain flour, sugar, oil, and salt in a bowl, then mix them together with a fork until clumps form. If your mixture looks too wet or dry, add more flour or oil accordingly. Once it becomes like the photo below, set aside for later.
For the Plum Cake
1 Whisk together the sugar and egg in a large bowl until pale. Add oil to the mixture and combine them.
2 Add plain flour, baking powder, and salt to the egg mixture and whisk them until well incorporated.
3 Preheat oven to 180C (356F). Line a tin with a piece of parchment paper.
4 Cut the pitted plums into 8 slices.
5 Pour the batter into the prepared tin and arrange the plums on top.
6 Scatter the crumble on top of the plums evenly.
7 Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cover the cake with foil if it is browning too much.
8 Cool for 30 minutes and slice it. Enjoy!
Tips for Making Plum Cake
- Preheat the oven enough – It is essential to preheat your oven to the correct temperature when you bake any cake. If you don’t preheat the oven enough, the baking time will change and the result will be different.
- Use room-temperature ingredients – To make your cake batter smooth, you need to take the ingredients out of the fridge at least 30 minutes earlier.
- Do not overmix – Overmixing can develop the gluten of the flour on the batter and which results in a tough and gummy cake. You should just combine the ingredients to avoid that.
- Use foil if your cake is browning too much – If the top of your is browning too much before it is baked through, put a piece of foil on top of it to prevent the cake that is burnt on top but raw in the middle.
Q & A
Can I use other fruit for this cake?
Yes, absolutely! You can use any other soft fruits, such as raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and pears.
How long does this cake last?
The plum cake can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days and 4-5 days in the fridge. If you store the cake in the fridge, put it in an airtight container to keep it moist.
Can I freeze this plum cake?
The plum cake can be frozen perfectly for up to 1 month. Just wrap it tightly with cling film to prevent it from getting freezer burn.
Why is my cake dry?
If your cake turns out dry, the chances are that 1. the oven temperature is too high, 2. you baked the cake for too long, and 3 you added too much flour. Solutions for 1 is that use an oven thermometer, for 2 is to set a timer and for 3 is to use a kitchen scale.
More Baking Recipes
No Butter Moist Lemon Drizzle Cake
Miso and Peanut Butter Blondie with Chocolate Chunks
No Butter Plum Crumble Cake
Equipment
- 1 cake tin I used a square tin (15cm x 15cm)
- 1 Whisk
- 1 bowl for the crumble
- 1 Large bowl for making the batter
Ingredients
For the Crumble
- 70 g Demerara sugar
- 35 g Plain flour
- 30 g Flavourless oil
- 1 pinch Salt
For the Cake
- 125 g Sugar
- 30 g Flavourless oil
- 1 Medium egg
- 80 ml Milk or Plant based milk
- 155 g Plain flour
- 1 heap tsp Baking powder
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 200 g Plum pitted
Instructions
For the Crumble
- Put plain flour, sugar, oil, and salt in a bowl, then mix them together with a fork until clumps form. If your mixture looks too wet or dry, add more flour or oil accordingly. Once it becomes like the photo below, set aside for later.
For the Plum Cake
- Whisk together the sugar and egg in a large bowl until pale. Add oil to the mixture and combine them.
- Add plain flour, baking powder, and salt to the egg mixture and whisk them until well incorporated.
- Preheat oven to 180C (356F). Line a tin with a piece of parchment paper.
- Cut the pitted plums into 8 slices.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and arrange the plums on top.
- Scatter the crumble on top of the plums evenly.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cover the cake with foil if it is browning too much.
- Cool for 30 minutes and slice it. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use any other soft fruits, such as raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and pears.
- The plum cake can be frozen perfectly for up to 1 month. Just wrap it tightly with cling film to prevent it from getting freezer burn.
- The plum cake can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days.
- If you store the cake in the fridge, put it in an airtight container to keep it moist.
