Fresh Plum Quick Bread is made with fresh plums, Greek yogurt and warm spices. Super soft and really easy to put together. You’ll have a new favorite breakfast treat or enjoy it as scrumptious snack!
This simple recipe is a quick bread that really is like a cake. Every bite tempts you with sweet and slightly tart plums and warm spices. It’s a wonderful weekend brunch dessert, breakfast (my favorite way to enjoy it) or a much needed afternoon coffee break! This quick bread is very similar to my Torta di Mela e Prugne (apple and plum cake).
I’m literally obsessed with plum recipes this time of year…and this bread…or cake, or is it a bread. It is AMAZING. Is it the jewel like plums or maybe it’s the crunchy cinnamon sugar topping?
We’ll ease into the last days of September with this lovely bread and late summer plums (my local markets are still bursting with plums!). I wish I could say I was lucky enough to have a plum tree or a neighbor with one! If you do have plum trees…lucky you…so you should make 2 or 3 of these quick breads!
Fresh Plum Quick Bread
So let’s talk about those stray plums you probably have in your fruit bowl. I can’t be the only one that finds 4-5 extra plums (I guess I buy why too many plums in plum season!). When you’re left with those abandoned plums have skin that doesn’t look the best, but the fruit is still great for a recipe like this!
I used coconut oil. But sometimes I make this with margarine (butter is also perfect for this quick bread!). And I used non-dairy Greek yogurt to make it even more tender. But you could use sour cream, if you have any on hand (or your favorite dairy Greek yogurt ).
If you are feeling ambitious and want a little arm workout, you could make this all with a mixing spoon and bowl. Just be sure to mix the butter (or margarine or oil) very well with the sugar. Or make it in with your electric mixer. Either way, it’s super easy to put together.
Let’s go over the ingredients:
- Flour: I used all-purpose. I have not tested it with almond or gluten-free 1-1 flour, so I can’t attest to how it would turn out. You could sub 1/2 whole wheat for 1/2 of the white flour.
- Plums: Just the perfect fruit to bake (and cook savory dishes) with! They are sweet and a little bit tart and have a gorgeous color when they’re all baked up. Maybe you’ll find those lovely Italian plums…so amazing for this quick bread. If you use the purple plums like I did, the color turns even deeper and is just so pretty! They look like jewels inside of the cake! You could even sub in apricots, peaches, nectarines or even cherries.
- Sugar: I used organic cane sugar. You could use white. You could use coconut sugar (the batter will be darker).
- Butter: I used a vegan butter (margarine)to keep it non-dairy. You could use coconut oil (melted), but use any mild flavored oil. Or you could use real butter.
- Eggs: I used local farm fresh eggs (with bright gorgeous yellow yolks). You could sub the egg with a flax seed egg.
- Yogurt:I used non-dairy Greek yogurt and it was perfect consistency. You could use your favorite dairy Greek yogurt or sour cream.
- Milk: If you find the batter to be too thick, add a tablespoon or two of milk (I used unsweetened almond milk…any non-dairy milk would work). It is a thicker batter.
Storing and Freezing
How to store the bread?
Once the quick bread has completely cooled, place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and it will be fine for a few days.
Can you freeze plum quick bread?
Yes, once it has completely cooled down, you can freeze it! I will wrap the whole bread first in aluminum foil and then place it in a freezer zipped lock storage bag. It will stay fresh for up to 1 month.
The frozen plums will not be as exciting as when it’s first baked. It will be more wet and mushy (but it will still be good…it just will look different). Let it defrost on the counter overnight. You could even warm up a slice in the toaster oven (on a low temp for a few minutes).
Some other delicious quick bread recipes to try:
- Cranberry Streusel Quick Bread
- Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread
- Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Fresh Plum Quick Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter (I used margarine, you could also use a mild flavored oil)
- ⅔ cup sugar (you could use coconut sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- ½ cup of Greek yogurt (unsweetened) or sour cream (I used non-dairy Greek yogurt)
- 1½ cups chopped pitted fresh plums about 9 small
- topping:
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray (or grease with butter).
- In a small bowl, toss the plums in the 1 tablespoon of flour to coat; set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a mixing bowl with electric mixer (or in another large bowl, by hand), beat margarine (or oil or butter), sugar and vanilla extract medium-high speed until well blended.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add in the grated lemon zest. Mix in the yogurt and combine.
- Beating at low speed, add the flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat just until combined.
- If you find the batter too thick, add a 1-2 tablespoons of milk (or for the dairy free: use unsweetened almond or whatever your favorite nut milk is). Start with 1 tablespoon and see how the texture is. It is a thicker batter.
- Gently fold in the plums until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar topping on top of the batter.
- Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Lower the heat to 325 and bake for about another 25-30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging.
- Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove plum bread from pan. Slice and enjoy!
Cara P says
Delicious plum quick bread- so easy to make!!!
Lora says
Really happy you enjoyed it! Thank you! XX Happy Baking!
Max Alexx says
The directions say to stir in vanilla extract, but that doesn’t appear in the list of ingredients — how much?
The directions also say to add a teaspoon of sale to the dry ingredients, but the ingredient list calls for 1/4 teaspoon — which is correct?
Thanks.
Lora says
Hi Max… 1 teaspoon vanilla extract…1/4 teaspoon salt (it’s just a pinch of salt!) hope that helps!!