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Home » Swedish recipes

Late Summer Plum Cake

Published: Mar 4, 2024 · by Cecilia Hoikka · Affiliate links are marked with an *asterisk

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This coffee cake is an August favorite when the plums are ripe here in the north. Moist, tart, sweet all at the same time. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or vanilla sauce and you have the perfect dessert or fika treat.

What makes this cake especially delicious, is the slight caramelizing of plums on a frying pan before baking. It is like an upside-down plum cake with a fluffy sugar cake batter. I have also added some nordic spices, like cardamom and cinnamon to give hints of another delicacy you need to try out- the Swedish cinnamon rolls.

closeup on plum cake so you can see the inside consistensy and the plum topping. Decorated with powdered sugar.

Why you'll love it

  • Simple to make with pantry ingredients
  • Perfect to make when you have lots of plums
  • The plums become caramelized goodness in this cake

Inspiration

In my childhood mum used to make this delicious pineapple upside down cake. I think you have tasted this goodness as well. This plum cake is as simple to make and gets a caramelized topping like the pineapple cake.

This is perfect to make with different fruits in season. We also often bake something called sockerkaka-a simple sugar cake that is fluffy and eaten as is or used in strawberry cake recipes. This delicacy is a mix of these two of my childhood favorite recipes.

Ingredients and substitutions

Ingredients for plum upside down cake on blue surface in cups.

In the recipe you can use brown sugar instead of white. Milk and butter can be replaced with plant-milk and margarine if you have milk allergy. Instead of vanilla extract you can use *vanilla sugar, like we often use in the North.

Rhum can be excluded or changed with for example to marsala wine or cognac.

I like to use a springform pan, since it is easy to put some baking paper in the bottom-this helps with the dishes. My favorite pans are from the Finnish brand Heirol, a small family owned company that makes great no stick products that are PFAS-chemical free. *You can order the springform pan online from UK en EU. Use a 9-10 inch pan for the recipe.

What plums to choose?

There are a variety of plum types and they all taste different. The nicest thing is that you can use any plums you like. Some turn out to be a bit more tart in the topping but the sugar balances this out. Some plum varieties are very soft and sweet, they turn out to be almost like jam consistency in the cake. For these sweeter varieties, you can reduce the sugar amount a bit in the topping.

In my cake had a variety that was semi sweet, some were very sweet while other individuals tasted more tart, they and had quite firm consistency.

We also have in many gardens Damsons, that are plum-like fruits. They are also perfect to use in this cake. In Swedish krikon (finnish kriikuna).

Instructions

Plum slices on white pan with some sugar and butter on top.
  1. Start by pitting your plums. Cut them in slices. Fry the plums, butter, rhum and sugar so the plums get soft and a bit caramelized.
Caramelized plum bites in springform pan.
  1. Add the plums in you cake pan that is covered with baking paper.
Sieving flour in a fluffy egg mixture.
  1. Whip your eggs and sugar white and fluffy. Add in the flour, baking powder, and spices through a sieve. Pour in the oil and mix all ingredients together gently.
Fluffy light batter in springform pan.
  1. Pour the batter on top of your plum mixture.
Ready baked cake in springform pan with brown color on top.
  1. Bake at lower rack in 350F (175C) for 40 minutes. Cover with foil for the last 10 minutes to prevent the cake from burning.
Blue plate covering the springform pan and hands lifting it to flip.
  1. Let it cool a bit and turn upside down with the help of a plate.

Tips and storing

Whip the sugar and eggs into a light and fluffy consistency. With an electric whisk this takes at least 5 minutes. The beating is essential to the fluffiness of the cake. When you take it out of the oven, you can drop it at the countertop from 7 inch height-this balances the air in the cake and it keeps its shape better.

Decorate with powdered sugar if you wish. Eat as is with a cup of coffee or tea or serve with some vanilla sauce or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Store leftovers in an airtight container preferably in the fridge.

This cake freezes well, store it a maximum of 3 months frozen in an airtight container.

Plum cake and a slice served on a platter.
Closeup on a coffee sponge cake with plum topping and powdered sugar.

Late summer plum cake

Upside down spice cake with topping fro fresh plums.
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Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 40 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Swedish
Servings 12
Calories 277 kcal

Equipment

  • 9-10 inch springform pan (24cm)

Ingredients
  

Topping

  • 2 pounds fresh pitted plums (900 grams-1kg)
  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • ½ cup sugar (1,2 dl)
  • ¼ cup rhum (optional) (0,6dl)

Cake

  • ½ cup sugar (0,6dl)
  • ½ cup oil (unflavored, for ex canola oil) (0,6dl)
  • 1¼ cup flour (3dl)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup milk (1,2dl)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Start by pitting your plums. Cut them in slices.
  • Fry plums, sugar and rhum on a pan so the plums get soft and a bit caramelized. Add them in you cake pan that is covered with baking paper.
  • Whip your eggs and sugar white and fluffy. Add in the flour, baking powder, and spices through a sieve. Pour in the oil and mix all ingredients together gently. Pour the batter on top of your plum mixture.
  • Bake at lower rack in 350F (175C) for 40 minutes. Cover with foil for the last 10 minutes to prevent the cake from burning. Let it cool a bit and turn upside down with the help of a plate. Decorate with powdered sugar if you wish. Eat as is with a cup of coffee or tea or serve with some vanilla sauce or a scoop of vanilla icecream.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pieceCalories: 277kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 2.9gFat: 11.6gSaturated Fat: 2.5gFiber: 1.9gSugar: 19.8gCalcium: 27mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Hi, I'm Cecilia. I want to share Scandinavian and Nordic recipes for you who want to connect with your Nordic heritage and learn to make delicious, simple Scandinavian food and learn about the food culture.

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Hi, I'm Cecilia. I want to share Scandinavian and Nordic recipes for you who want to connect with your Nordic heritage and learn to make delicious, simple Scandinavian food and learn about the food culture.

More about me →

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