Plum Cake

Healthiness : (108 votes)

Difficulty:  
Comments:

This a forgiving recipe, it seems to work well every time. The plums are best if chopped finely, a sharp knife is needed for this. It works well if you slice the sides off the plums to arrange on the top, then chop the rest, pulling the flesh away from the stone with your fingers. We found it hard to neatly halve the plums to go on the top, as the flesh clings to the stone. The method above was easier to manage.

Grease the tin well and put baking paper at the bottom or it may stick.

Preparation Time: 20-30 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours
Number of servings: Serves 8-10
Serving suggestions: Serve as a snack with a glass of milk or fruit juice.
This is a vegetarian recipe


This is a lovely way to use fresh plums, which are in season throughout the early Autumn. It is best a day or two after cooking and keeps well for about a week. The chopped plum gives the cake a light fruit cake texture but the sharpness of the plums makes the cake not too sweet.

• 325g (12 oz) self-raising flour
• 2.5ml (1/2 tsp) salt
• 5ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
• 150g (6 oz) hard margarine / butter
• 75g (3 oz) soft brown sugar and an extra 2 tablespoons for the topping
• 75g (3 oz) sultanas
• 450g (1 lb) fresh plums
• 90ml (6 tbsp) golden syrup
• 3 eggs
• a little butter /margarine for greasing the tin

 You could make this healthier by using self-raising wholemeal flour or half wholemeal and half white flour.

• Large mixing bowl
• Small mixing bowl
• Whisk or fork to mix the eggs
• Wooden spoon
• Measuring spoon set or tablespoon (15ml) and teaspoon (5 ml)
• chopping board
• Vegetable knife
• Baking paper, scissors and pencil
• Deep sided 20cm (8inch)  baking tin (One with a loose base makes the cake easier to turn out)
• Aluminium foil to wrap the cold cake in

Always wash your hands before preparing food.

1. Preheat the oven to Gas 4, 180C, 350F
2. Grease the sides of the tin and line the bottom with baking paper
3. Add the flour, salt and cinnamon into the large bowl
4. Chop the hard fat into small pieces and add these to the flour 
5. Rub the fat in until the mixture makes a breadcrumb texture
6. Add the 3 oz of sugar and the sultanas
7. On a chopping board, slice the sides off about 10 plums; save these slices to cover the top of the cake
8. Finely chop the remainder of the plums  (including the centres of the ones you sliced the sides off)
9. Break the eggs into the small bowl, whisk or beat with a fork
10. Add the syrup to the egg mix and stir
11. Add the chopped plums and egg mix to the large bowl and mix together
12. Pour the mixture into the cake tin, level it with a spoon 
13. Arrange the plum slices on the top and sprinkle with the remaining sugar
14. Bake in the centre of the oven for 2 hours
15. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin
16. Once cold, run a palette knife between the edge of the cake and the tin to release it and turn it out onto a length of foil 
17. Wrap it in the foil and keep for a day or two to mature
18. The cake will keep (if wrapped) for about a week

There is 1 comment for this recipe.
Add a comment

Name: Lilian Ongley

10th April 2012

I think this is the recipe I've been looking for a long time. I used to make a cake very similar to this recipe years ago when my daughters were young.The reason I think it's the same is because i'ts the only cake recipe i've seen that tells you when the cake is cold it should be wrapped in foil and kept for 2 days to let it mature. The ingredients all seem quite familiar, not that I can remember using sultanas. I can remember wrapping the cake and putting it in a tin. The thing I think I remember most is being asked every 5 minutes "Is the cake ready yet" They were the longest 2 days of my life but well worth the constant one question that was asked. After waiting and searching so long I will certainly try this recipe and let you know the outcome. I might even send you a sample should it with stand the journey. We would love to know how your cake turned out, do let us know. The Cookit Team ,/i>

View all comments, or Add a comment