Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 40 mins
Total: 60 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Yield: 1 cake
This quick and easy recipe for Polish plum cake (placek z sliwkami) makes good use of an abundance of fresh plums. Though you can use any variety, small Italian prune plums, with their slightly tart flavor, hold their shape well and add a welcome complexity of flavor. They come into their short season in late summer, and you can find them in many grocery stores through the early fall.
In a pinch or as a shortcut, you can use 2 (14-ounce) cans of whole purple plums, drained, halved, and pitted. Other juicy stone fruits such as nectarines, peaches, and apricots, or mixed berries and pie cherries also work well in this versatile recipe.
This light, not-too-sweet cake makes a good dessert after a heavy dinner or for a late-night treat. Or serve it as you would a coffee cake, for a sweet midmorning or midafternoon snack or a festive breakfast.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
-
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
-
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-
3/4 teaspoon salt
-
3/4 cup sugar
-
1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
-
3/4 cup milk
-
2 large eggs, room temperature
-
10 medium fresh plums (any variety), halved, pitted, and quartered
For the Streusel Topping:
-
1/4 cup sugar
-
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
-
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
-
Confectioners' sugar, optional
Steps to Make It
-
Gather the cake ingredients.
-
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly coat a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
-
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and 3/4 cup of sugar.
-
Add the room-temperature butter, milk, and eggs. Beat with a hand mixer at medium speed for 4 minutes or until all of the ingredients combine.
-
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Position the plum halves on top, cut side up, pushing them down slightly into the batter.
-
Gather the topping ingredients.
-
Cut the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and the cloves into 3 tablespoons of cold butter until crumbs form.
-
Sprinkle it over the plums.
-
Bake the cake on the center oven rack for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in several places comes out clean.
-
Let the cake cool in the pan to absorb the juice from the plums, resulting in an especially moist cake with intense plum flavor throughout.
-
Sprinkle the top with confectioners' sugar, if desired, and cut the cake into 12 squares.
Recipe Variations
- Cloves impart a strong flavor to the cake. You can substitute ground cinnamon, allspice, or nutmeg if you prefer.
- To increase the sweetness, drizzle a glaze made of 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract onto the cooled cake. Replace the vanilla extract with fresh lemon juice for a tart glaze that would pair well with berries.
- Sprinkle crushed almonds or walnuts onto the streusel topping before you bake the cake.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 12 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 292 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 12g | 15% |
| Saturated Fat 7g | 35% |
| Cholesterol 60mg | 20% |
| Sodium 255mg | 11% |
| Total Carbohydrate 43g | 15% |
| Dietary Fiber 1g | 5% |
| Total Sugars 23g | |
| Protein 5g | |
| Vitamin C 5mg | 26% |
| Calcium 90mg | 7% |
| Iron 1mg | 8% |
| Potassium 149mg | 3% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
