Upside Down Plum Cake
We are back in Munich and summer is in the air. The sun is shining, the chestnut trees are verdantly green, and of course, the beer gardens are in full swing. Munich is such a summer city, with most days hot and clear, followed by an evening thunderstorm to wash away the humidity. I am hard at work on my next project and enjoying the huge bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables that the season has to offer.
I know you are going to love this recipe for Upside Down Plum Cake. It’s light, summery and incredibly moreish. I like to bake it picnic-style in a small roasting tray, but it is equally at home in a round cake tin.
I’ve made it here with plums, but, as is usually the case with stone fruit, it could be easily made with peaches, nectarines, apricots etc, with adjustments to the spices as you like. Ground hazelnut, easily available in Germany can be hard to find elsewhere – toasting and grinding your own hazelnuts is a thankless task, so if you can’t get hold of them use ground almonds instead.
Speaking of thankless tasks, don’t use fruit that is overly ripe – not only is it an enormous pain to de-stone (especially plums), the tartness of just on the edge of ripe stonefruit is the perfect foil to the caramelised brown sugar.
This is a lovely old fashioned sort of cake, which is perfect for afternoon tea time, or can be dressed up as dessert if you serve it with a scoop of ice cream. This recipe can also be baked in a 22-23cm round tin, as long as you are sure it doesn’t leak, so preferably not a spring-form – if that’s all you have, wrap the bottom of the cake tin in a layer of tin foil and place the cake tin on a baking sheet to catch any potential spillage.
Let me know if you try this recipe in the comments below, or using the hashtag #daysofjay on Instagram. Happy cooking!
Upside Down Plum Cake
This is a lovely old fashioned sort of cake, which is perfect for afternoon tea time, or can be dressed up as dessert if you serve it with a scoop of ice cream.
Ingredients
- 50 g brown sugar
- 600 g plums, halved & de-stoned
- 175 g butter, softened
- 200 g caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 3 large eggs
- 50 g ground hazelnuts
- 200 g plain flour
- 10 g baking powder
Instructions
- Heat oven to 180°C / 350° F / Gas 4.
- Grease the sides and line the base of an approximately 29 x 18cm deep sided baking dish. Cut a piece of baking paper to the size of the base of the dish, lay that inside and grease the paper too.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the baking paper, then lay the plums on top in one layer, with the skin facing down.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric hand mixer, beat together the butter, caster sugar, vanilla essence, nutmeg and ginger until pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs, one by one, ensuring each is well mixed in before adding the next.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the ground hazelnuts, flour and baking powder, then add to the creamed butter and sugar, mixing on a the lowest speed, just until combined. Stir once or twice with a big spoon to make sure that everything is mixed in, then spoon the mixture over the plums, smoothing the top so that it is nice and even.
- Bake in the bottom third of the preheated oven for 50 minutes, until golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow to rest in the dish for 10 minutes before loosening the sides with a knife and turning out onto a serving plate or board.
- Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting and serving.
Notes
This recipe can also be baked in a 22-23cm round tin, as long as you are sure it doesn’t leak, so preferably not a spring-form – if that’s all you have, wrap the bottom of the cake tin in a layer of tin foil and place the cake tin on a baking sheet to catch any potential spillage.
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Nutrition
Calories: 634kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 156mg | Sodium: 403mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 52g
Tried this recipe?I’d love to hear how it went! Please leave a review or a star rating and let me know how it was! Use the hashtag #daysofjay on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I bake Upside Down Plum Cake in a different sized cake tin?
Yes, you can. If you are using a different sized tin, be sure to adjust your baking time and temperature – a smaller tin will need longer at a lower temperature, while if the cake is cooked in a larger tin it will be thinner and cook much faster. If the top of the cake is browning too fast, loosely tent a piece of aluminium foil over the top.
u003cbru003eHow do I remove the stones from the plums easily?
I use a small, sharp-edged teaspoon to remove the stones from plums.
UPSIDE DOWN PLUM CAKE
