Italian Plum and Almond Cake

This Italian Plum and Almond Cake recipe is sure to delight your guests with its fragrant moist crumb and pools of soft jammy plums crowned with an almond streusel topping.

Unlike the days of my youth, when these Italian prune plums were only found and enjoyed plucked straight off my Zia’s tree, nowadays they’re easily available at local markets.

And those sold at our local markets are just as wonderfully luscious as the ones grown in our own back yards.

Prune plums are exceptional if you favour canning or even hydrating your fruits. But they’re equally wonderful to bake with. And if you’ve never baked with plums before, then you’ve been missing out dear friends!

Baking with Italian Prune Plums

Italian prune plums are Freestone fruits, meaning that the pit easily separates from the flesh. These are the plums that are most often dried out to make prunes and are simply wonderful to bake with.

Available during late summer to early autumn, these prune plums have a distinctive oblong shape. Its skin is tinged a deep purple with a reddish blueish hue and reveals a firm juicy flesh when bitten into.

They’re quite the delectable fruit and you’ll find that they hold up well in both baking and cooking.

Once baked the purple hue is transformed to a fuchsia like brightness, crowning a fresh plum cake in pools of soft and sweet jammy goodness.

Ingredients for a Fresh Plum Cake

• Flour
• Ground almonds
• Brown sugar
• Eggs
• Butter
• Italian prune plums
• Sour Cream
• Sliced almonds
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Cinnamon
• Pure vanilla extract
• Pure almond extract
• Pinch of salt

How To Make An Italian Plum And Almond Cake

Baking an Italian almond cake with ground almonds and topped with fresh plums is just as easy as baking one topped with apples. The purple plums hold their shape very well, while giving off deep concentrated flavours once baked.

Let’s get started with first making my favourite streusel topping. It’s one I use when baking these cake-like raspberry crumb muffins.

It’s quick, easy and you can make the streusel topping ahead of time and keep refrigerated or in your freezer till needed.

• Place your streusel ingredients in a small bowl or in a large plate.
• Mix the ingredients together, using your hands or a fork, until the mixture resembles large coarse crumbs and refrigerate till ready to use.
• Alternatively, you can also use a mini food processor if you have one.

• Gather the flour, finely ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized bowl.
• Whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside.

• Place the brown sugar and softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. (You can also use a large bowl and hand held mixer.)
• Beat the sugar and butter together until fluffy.

• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, just until combined and stir in both the vanilla and almond extracts.
• Stir in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream, making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of sour cream, just until smooth.

Topping Cake with Plums

First slice the plums in half and remove the stone pit. Then slice each half into 1/4 inch slices and set the sliced halves aside till ready to top the cake.

• Transfer the cake batter into a greased cake pan while spreading the mixture evenly with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula.
• Keeping the sliced plum halves together, place them in clusters over the cake batter. There’s no need to press them into the cake. Just let them rest on the surface.
• Sprinkle the plum cake with streusel topping, between and around the plums.
• Top with the sliced almonds.

The streusel topping and the sliced almonds are totally optional over this Italian plum cake. And really just as wonderful without it.

But it adds such a lovely contrast in texture, not to mention how prettily they compliment this jammy cake. All that’s left to dress up this fruit topped cake is a generous dusting of powdered sugar.

It’s rustic! It’s simple and super yummy! A streusel plum cake also makes tea time and coffee time that much more enjoyable!

Happy baking!

More Cake Recipes with Fresh Fruit 

• Peach Almond Cake – Gluten Free
• Rustic Italian Apple Cake
• Olive Oil Apple Cake
• Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake
• Italian Orange Cake with Blueberries

If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

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Italian Plum and Almond Cake

This Italian Plum and Almond Cake is sure to delight your guests with its dense moist crumble, topped with pools of soft jammy plums and almond streusel.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Italian Plum and Almond Cake

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 469kcal

Equipment

• 1 8 inch round springform pan
• Stand mixer or hand held mixer with bowl

Ingredients

STREUSEL TOPPING

• 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (cubed)

FOR THE CAKE

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup finely ground almonds
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 2/3 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 2/3 cup sour cream (full fat)
• 7 italian plums (halved, pitted and sliced)
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• powdered sugar (for dusting)

Instructions

STREUSEL TOPPING

• In a small bowl, mix together the CRUMB MIXTURE ingredients using your hands or a food processor just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Refrigerate till ready to use.

FOR THE CAKE

• Grease an 8 inch round spring form pan, line with parchment paper then grease the parchment paper. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, finely ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl beat together the softened butter with the brown sugar until fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time just until combined.
• Stir in both the vanilla and almond extracts.
• Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternating with the sour cream, making 3 additions of the flour and 2 of the sour cream. Stir just until smooth.
• Scoop the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
• Slice the plum halves length-wise into 1/4 inch slices and while keeping the slices together, place them in clusters over the surface of the cake batter.
• Sprinkle the streusel topping between and around the sliced plums and top with the sliced almonds.
• Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 40-45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before releasing it from the pan.
• Once completely cooled dust the cake with powdered sugar, slice and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 469kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 110mg | Potassium: 367mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 828IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 128mg | Iron: 2mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @marisasitaliankitchen or tag #marisasitaliankitchen!