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Murielle Banackissa
Closeup of Plum Cake in a black plate.

Spiced Plum Cake

Print recipe
1 hour 10 mins Prep: 15 mins Cook: 55 mins
Serves 10

Made of a soft spiced sponge, this summery vegan cake is topped with seasonal juicy plums and a generous sprinkle of turbinado sugar. It is perfect on its own or served with plant based ice cream!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground cardamom
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ¼ cup unsalted vegan butter , at room temperature
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup unsweetened soy milk
  • 5 plums , pitted and cut into 30 slices
  • 1 tbsp turbinado sugar

Recipe

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray or a neutral oil.

  2. Step 2

    Make the batter: combine whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt in a large bowl.

  3. Step 3

    In a different bowl, beat together, using a handheld mixer, the applesauce, softened butter, sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk in unsweetened plant based milk.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Whisk together until incorporated. Be careful not to overmix.

  5. Step 5

    Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Top the cake with slices of plums, forming a circular pattern.

  6. Step 6

    Garnish with turbinado sugar and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

  7. Step 7

    Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and let cool completely before slicing and enjoying on its own of with a scoop of vegan ice cream.

  8. Step 8

    Keep in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.

Common Questions & Swaps

Common Questions & Swaps:

  • Can I replace the plums with another fruit? Yes, absolutely. This recipe works wonderfully with nectarines, peaches, and apricots.

  • Can I use other flours in this recipe? I have personally only tested this recipe with 1 cup of whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of all purpose flour. However, I think these substitutions would work well: 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1 1/2 cup all purpose gluten free flour, and cup all purpose (gluten free or not) flour + 1/2 cup almond or tigernut flour

  • Can I use another sweetener instead of sugar? I would think any other granulated sweetener should do, but I have personally not tested any of them.

  • Can I replace the applesauce with something else? Yes, you can replace it with 1/3 cup of mashed banana or pumpkin puree, although the flavor of the cake will be affected by this change.

  • If you don’t have vegan butter on hand, swap it out for the same amount vegan margarine.

Closeup of Plum Cake in a black plate.
Closeup of plums baked into cake.
Spiced Plum Cake with Slice taken out.
Slice of spiced plum cake on a plate.