Italian Plum Almond Streusel Cake

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

First and foremost, my apologies dear readers for the confusion on receiving a repeat email for this Italian Plum Cake recipe. To keep it short, I have been transitioning from one Hosting platform to another. In the midst of it all, this latest recipe got lost in cyberspace through no fault of either Hosting platform. They were both tremendously helpful in resolving the issue. So here it is again…enjoy!

I’ve never actually baked with Italian plums before. These plums were always enjoyed plucked straight off my Zia’s tree, who so generously shared her bounty with us.

If memory serves me, it wasn’t an overly big tree by any stretch. Only reaching to about 10 feet in height, or so it seemed to my younger self. As this winter tree is now being enjoyed by another nurturing family, I contend myself with the store bought variety.

They’re just as wonderfully luscious as the ones grown in our own back yards. These Italian prune plums are also exceptional if you favour canning or even hydrating your fruits.

IS IT A PRUNE OR IS IT A PLUM?

They are actually Freestone plums, meaning that the pit easily separates from the flesh. These are the plums that are most often dried out to make prunes.

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 cooking or even baking.

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

The streusel topping and the sliced almonds are totally optional here and really just as wonderful without it.

However, I thought to put to use the extra streusel I had in my freezer after making these outrageously good Raspberry Crumb Muffins.

It adds such a lovely contrast in texture, not to mention how prettily they compliment this jammy cake.

Its rustic. Its simple and super yummy! Also…it makes tea time and coffee time that much more enjoyable!

Happy baking dear friends!

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

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Italian Plum Almond Streusel Cake

An Italian Almond Streusel Cake 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 Almond Streusel Cake

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings 8

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

• 1/2 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
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup almonds very finely ground
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup sour cream full fat
• 7 italian plums halved and pits removed
• 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 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.
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, finely ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
• 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, 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 cake batter.
• Sprinkle the streusel topping between and around the sliced plums and top with the sliced almonds.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 to 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!

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