Sunken Sugar Plum Cake

Who can resist colorful and sweet plums at the markets this time of year? As a matter of fact, I have been waiting for months to make this Sunken Sugar Plum Cake. The recipe inspiration is pure German. 

 At home in Germany, the property has two types of plums, Mirabelles, and purple prune plums. Sadly the trees no longer produce plums. Late summer prune plums or zwetschgen, are perfect for making German Plum Tart. I used to love assisting my late mother in picking them. Even more fun was helping her make the tart. Different regions of Germany call this particular tart different names. Pflaumenkuchen in some places. Bavarians say “zwetschgendatschi”. However, in our corner of Nordrhein Westphalia, it’s  “Pflaumenfladen”. Furthermore, in our region, it is shortened to “Fla”.

Anyway. I digress. So let’s get back to this sumptuous Sunken Sugar Plum Cake featuring colorful plums from the farmers’ market in NYC.  

First, wash the plums and cut them in half. remove the stones. This dessert features a spiced brown sugar cake base. It is spiked with fragrant cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamon. The cake base is fairly simple. However, it does contain a total of six eggs. So make sure you have those on hand.

Spread the cake base out in a 9″ x 13″ baking pan. Then, gently push the plums into the top of the batter. Make sure the plums are cut side up.

Bake for 45 minutes. When the cake is cool completely, sprinkle with powdered sugar. However, this is optional. It looks pretty but the cake is just as delicious without it.

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Sunken Sugar Plum Cake

Course Dessert

Cuisine German

Keyword plum cake, plum recipes, sugar plums, sunken plum cake, versunken plaumenkuchen

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 12

Author Lora Wiley-Lennartz

Ingredients

• 2 lbs fresh sugar plums
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
• 1.5 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 6 eggs
• 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
• powdered sugar for dusting the top of the cake

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a 9” x 13” inch cake pan with parchment paper.
3. Halve the plums and remove the pits. Set aside
   
4. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.
5. Beat the butter and the sugar together until creamy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
6. Add the eggs, one at a time until thoroughly combined.
7. Add the dry ingredients to the batter in thirds until just combined.
8. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan.
9. Transfer the batter to the pan. Use a flexible spatula to even out the top of the batter.
10. Push the plum halves into the batter, evenly distributing the pieces throughout the cake.
    
11. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
12. Remove the pan from the oven. After 15 minutes, remove the cake from the pan and transfer to a baking rack.
13. Let cool completely before sprinkling with powdered sugar.
    
14. Cut and transfer pieces to a serving plate.

Like this Sunken Sugar Plum Cake? Also, try some of these other plummy recipes: