Easy Italian Plum Cake (Soft, One Bowl, and Dairy-Free)

An Easy Italian Plum Cake that is made with the season's beautiful Italian plums. This super soft and delicious cake can be customized with different fruits and can be enjoyed all year long! Perfect for breakfast, or for dessert.

If you love Italian fruit cakes, also try my Torta di Mela e Prugne (Apple and Plum Cake) and my Teresa's Vegan Apple Cake - both come from the same Italian family inspiration as this plum cake.

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This Italian plum cake is one of those recipes that only exists because Italian plum season is so short. I can find the small, oblong prune plums at my favorite fruit market for about one week in September. That is it. They appear and disappear so fast that I plan around them - whatever I do not eat straight from the bag goes directly into this cake.

Every bite has jammy pockets of plum sweetness and a slightly crisp turbinado sugar crust on top. The batter itself is lemon-scented, tender, and made entirely in one bowl - no stand mixer required, no complicated steps. It smells like fall while it bakes. It is the kind of cake that looks beautiful without trying very hard, which is exactly what a good Italian fruit cake should be.

I have to give credit where credit is due. This is a riff on an apple and plum cake that I make. Which is a riff on an apple cake recipe my suocera (mother-in-law) taught me how to make (and I made it vegan (GASP!) Teresa's Vegan Apple Cake.  When I saw taught me, I'm saying that pretty loosely. I'm pretty certain she still believes that I don't know how to cook, let alone bake.

You see, she holds onto her recipes pretty dearly. And if I am not quick enough, I'll miss a step or an ingredient. And good luck on asking her to repeat what she said or to demonstrate again what she just did.

She doesn't like to share her recipe secrets, well, at least with me! So, be lucky we have this cake here. 

What ingredients are in this Italian plum cake?

• all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• sea salt
• lemon
• granulated sugar
• eggs
• oil (any mild flavored oil)
• Greek Yogurt (you could use dairy-free almond yogurt) or buttermilk (even unsweetened almond milk with a bit of white vinegar in it)
• plums (I used Italian plums, but any plums will work)
• turbinado sugar
• ground cinnamon (or even nutmeg)
• butter

How to make Easy Italian Plum Cake

Gather up all your ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and prep a 9-inch cake pan. I prefer to use a springform and I prefer to spray it with baking spray.

Step 1: Whisk the Dry Ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and sea salt. I like to add the lemon rind to the flour.

Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients

With an electric, stand mixer, or by hand, cream together sugar and eggs until it is lightly and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the oil, and mix on low until it is combined. Gradually add the flour mixture, and the yogurt or buttermilk, ending with the flour flour mixture. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to combine all the flour.  

Step 3: Bake

Transfer cake batter to prepared pan.

Top with sliced plums. I push some of the plum pieces into the cake. You could even combine some of the plums in the batter after you mix it together. But I find they sink in as the cake bakes, so I just place them on top of the cake.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar and a dash of cinnamon over the cake top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven. When it's still hot, use a sharp knife to loosen the edges of the cake from the sides of the pan.  If you used a springform pan, pop it open carefully and place the cake (with the pan bottom)on a cake rack to cool.

Let the cake cool completely. Once it cools remove the cake pan bottom (or you could leave it on).

Serve plum cake warm (my favorite way to enjoy) or even cold. Lovely with a scoop of ice-cream or whipped cream. So nice for breakfast.

Tips

• Use a springform pan. The soft, tender crumb of this cake is easier to release from a springform than from a standard cake pan. Grease it well and you will not have any sticking issues.
• Rub the lemon zest into the flour. This step releases the essential oils from the zest and infuses the entire batter with lemon flavor rather than leaving pockets of zest throughout.
• Do not overmix the batter. Fold the flour in gently and stop the moment the dry ingredients disappear. Overmixing develops gluten and can make the crumb tough rather than tender.
• Press some plums into the batter. Plums placed only on top tend to sink slightly as the cake bakes anyway. Pressing some pieces gently into the batter and leaving others on top gives the cake beautiful jammy pockets throughout rather than just a fruit topping.
• Do not skip the turbinado topping. The coarse sugar and cold butter pieces are what create the lightly crunchy, caramelized top crust that makes this cake stand out. It is a small step with a significant result.

Variations

• Different fruit: This cake works beautifully with apples, pears, peaches, apricots, cherries, blackberries, or blueberries. The base batter is versatile enough to carry almost any seasonal fruit year-round.
• Gluten-free: Substitute a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour. Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 and King Arthur Measure for Measure both work well in this recipe.
• Dairy-free: Use the almond milk and vinegar substitute for buttermilk. Use coconut oil pieces on top instead of butter. The cake as written is naturally dairy-free with these swaps.
• 9×13 pan: Double the recipe to bake in a 9×13 pan. The cake will bake flatter but feeds a crowd. Watch the bake time - it may finish a few minutes sooner.
• Nutmeg instead of cinnamon: A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg on top gives a warmer, more subtle spice flavor that works particularly well with Italian plums and pears.

What plums are best for this cake?

I used the smaller Italian plums. I can only find them here about 1 week in September. Then as fast they arrive at my favorite fruit market, they are gone!

They need to be hidden before everyone devours them. And what remains, gets made into this amazing cake! So, typically I will use about 10-12 Italian plums and maybe 5-7 other types of plums (since they are bigger and rounder). The more ripe the plums are, the better the flavor of the cake will be! They will bake up sweet like honey!

If using larger plums, quarter them instead of cutting them in half.

I ended up placing some slices that were quartered, and some that were halved, on top of the cake. I liked the variation of the shapes and the design it made while baking.

More Italian Fruit Cakes and Desserts

• Torta di Mela e Prugne (Apple and Plum Cake) - A classic Italian-style cake combining apples and plums in the same simple batter.
• Teresa's Vegan Apple Cake - The recipe from my mother-in-law's kitchen, made entirely vegan.
• Apple Crumb Coffee Cake - A tender, one-bowl cake with a buttery crumb topping and fall spices.
• Easy Cranberry and Apple Cake - A beautiful autumn fruit cake using the same easy method.
• Crostata alla Nutella - A classic Italian pasta frolla tart filled with silky Nutella.
• Guava Jam Coffee Cake - A soft, aromatic coffee cake with a sweet jam swirl.

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5 from 20 votes

Easy Italian Plum Cake

An Easy Italian Plum Cake that is made with the season's beautiful Italian plums. This super soft and delicious cake can be customized with different fruits and can be enjoyed all year long! Perfect for breakfast, or for dessert.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Baking, cake

Servings: 8

Calories: 2871kcal

Author: Lora

Equipment

• 9 Inch Springform Cake Pan

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ pinch of salt
• ▢ 1 lemon, zest organic is best
• ▢ ⅔ cup sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ ½ cup oil any mild flavored oil
• ▢ 1 cup buttermilk I used unsweetened almond milk + 1 tablespoon vinegar, you could also use Greek yogurt or unsweetened almond or coconut yogurt
• ▢ 10-12 Italian plums pitted and sliced in half (or 5-7 larger plums, sliced in quarters)
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or nutmeg
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons margarine or butter (if you're not dairy-free)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan with removable bottom. If you have baking spray, I prefer to prep my cake pans with baking spray.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
• Toss in the lemon zest and with your hands, mix it into the flour mixture to release the lemon essence.
• In a large bowl with an electric, or stand mixer, beat the sugar and eggs until creamy (about 5 minutes). You could also make the cake by hand. Beat in the oil and buttermilk (or yogurt). Mix well.
• Add flour mixture into the wet mixture a half up at a time. If using a mixer, pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl with spatula and mix well after every addition.
• Spoon the cake batter into your prepped cake pan.
• Top the cake with the plum slices. Push some of them gently into the cake batter.
• Sprinkle the turbinado sugar mixed with the cinnamon and thin pats of margarine (or butter) on top of the cake.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Check cake at 50 minutes. Every oven is different.
• If cake is browning, cover with aluminum foil for remainder of baking time.
• Remove the cake from the oven. When it's still hot, use a sharp knife to loosen the edges of the cake from the sides of the pan. If you used a springform pan, pop it open carefully and place the cake (with the pan bottom)on a cake rack to cool.
• Let the cake cool completely. Once it cools remove the cake pan bottom (or you could leave it on). Best served warm.

Nutrition Disclaimer

Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.

Notes

• Easy Italian plum cake in a springform pan with golden cinnamon turbinado topping
• Slice of Italian plum cake showing jammy plum pockets in a soft, tender crumb
• Overhead view of Italian prune plum cake with a caramelized sugar crust
• Close-up of Italian plum cake topped with halved prune plums and turbinado sugar
• Italian plum cake cooling on a wire rack with Italian prune plums in the background

Nutrition

Calories: 2871kcal | Carbohydrates: 364g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 145g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 39g | Monounsaturated Fat: 84g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 1372mg | Potassium: 633mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 170g | Vitamin A: 1406IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 824mg | Iron: 13mg

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