Plum Pound Cake Recipes

PLUM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-by-2-inch or a 9-inch cake pan and line bottom with a round of parchment. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated; beat in vanilla and lemon zest. Beat in half the flour mixture, then sour cream. Add remaining flour mixture; mix just until combined.
• Spread batter into pan and smooth top with a knife. In a bowl, toss plums with 2 tablespoons flour and sprinkle over batter.
• Bake until cake is golden, about 30 minutes; loosely tent with foil and bake until cake pulls away from side of pan and a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes more. Let cake cool completely in pan. Run knife around cake edge and remove cake from pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

PLUM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9-inch tube pan.
• Separate the eggs. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg yolks and the lemon zest.
• Stir together the flour and baking powder and then blend the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Gently fold in the egg whites. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. There will only be a little over an inch of batter. Arrange the plums, skin side down, attractively over the batter.
• Bake in preheated oven until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool before serving.

VIENNESE PLUM CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well., Transfer to a greased 9-in. square baking dish. Top with plums. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over plums., For topping, in a small bowl, combine flour and sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in walnuts if desired. Sprinkle over top., Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until topping is golden brown and plums are tender. Cool on a wire rack.

LATE SUMMER PLUM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9-inch springform pan. (Alternatively, the cake may be made in a 9-inch cake pan or pie pan and served directly from the pan.)
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, and beat on low speed until smooth. (Note: the batter will be quite thick.)
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Arrange the plums on top, skin side up, in a circular pattern so that they mostly cover the batter. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the plums.
• Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until golden on top and set in the center.
• When the cake is hot out of the oven, run a knife around the edges of the pan and then remove the springform edge, leaving the base in place (if using a springform pan). Let the cake cool on a rack completely. Slice and serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.
• Note: This cake keeps well, loosely covered at room temperature, for several days.
• Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place it in heavy-duty freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.

SPICED PLUM POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Cut each plum half into 3 wedges and set aside. Combine the sugar, cinnamon and other spices in a bowl and set aside.
• Cake:
• Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and light. Gradually beat in the eggs.
• Combine the flour, salt and baking powder and gently mix into the butter mixture. Don't over beat or the cake will be tough.
• Spread half of the batter in the base of the loaf tin (app. 25cm x 13cm and 7½ cm deep) lined with parchment paper, then scatter over half of the plums. Sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture over the top. Repeat with the remaining batter, plums and sugar.
• Bake in the oven at 150°C fan for about 1 h 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cover the top loosely with foil if getting too brown. Cool completely before removing from the tin.
• Icing:.
• Combine icing sugar with enough lemon juice to make a smooth, thick but pourable icing.
• Serve dusted with icing sugar or drizzle with lemon icing.

PLUM KUCHEN

Steps:

• Adjust an oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and set aside. Do not use cooking spray because the dough must adhere to the pan when you spread it.
• In a medium-size bowl, whisk together thoroughly the flour, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, and 1/3 cup sugar. Cut the 5 tablespoons butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender until the fat is in smallish pieces and looks like coarse crumbs.
• In a small bowl beat the egg with a table fork well to combine the white with the yolk. Stir in the milk and vanilla, and pour into the dry ingredients. Stir with the fork until the dough is thoroughly moistened. It will be very thick.
• To spread the dough into a thin even layer in the pan, place small spoonfuls of it into the buttered pan, spacing them an inch or two apart (pretend you're making drop cookies), forming about a dozen or so little mounds. Spread them together with the back of a teaspoon to make a very thin even layer covering the bottom of the pan.
• Take your time and have patience with this step. Swirling the back of the spoon back and forth in a figure eight pattern as you spread the batter does the best job.
• Arrange the plums, cut sides down, in tightly packed rows on top of the batter. (I usually get 5 or 6 half-plums across the short side of the pan and 10 to 12 along the long side). Brush the plums with the melted butter. Combine the 1/4 cup sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the plums.
• Bake for 35 to 40minutes, until the fruit juices have almost stopped bubbling and a toothpick stuck into the cake portion comes out clean. Cool the kuchen in its pan on a wire rack. Cut around the sides of the kuchen to release from the pan. Serve portions warm or at room temperature.
• NOTE: If you want to freeze the kuchen, butter the baking pan and line it with aluminum foil. Butter the foil and proceed with the recipe. After the kuchen has cooled in its pan, grasp the edges of foil and carefully lift the cake out of the pan. Set the cake on a cookie sheet and place it in the freezer. When solidly frozen, peel off the foil, wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap, and enclose the cake securely in heavy-duty foil. Date the kuchen and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. To reheat, unwrap the frozen cake (remove both the foil and plastic wrap), and set the kuchen on a baking sheet. Tent it loosely with the foil. Place the frozen cake into a preheated 300 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until it is completely thawed and slightly warm. Cut into portions and serve.

SUGARPLUM CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Combine flour and cinnamon; add to egg mixture. Beat in baby food; stir in nuts. Transfer to a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan., Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

PLUM POUND CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Mix together flour, sugar and oil using an electric mixer. Add eggs, baby food and nuts, mixing well. Pour into a tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Let cake cool completely.
• 2. Make the icing by mixing cream cheese and butter until smooth using an electric mixer. Slowly add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Ice the cake.
• 3. **Note** may add some red food coloring to make the cake more vibrant.