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This plum yogurt cake is a really delicious and simple bake that is perfect to make when plums are in season. It has a beautifully soft and moist sponge, topped with sliced plums and demerara sugar. Once baked, it’s golden on top but soft and light in the centre. I like to add a dollop of softly whipped vanilla cream to make the most delicious dessert.
The inspiration behind this cake comes from ‘Torta di Susine’ – an Italian plum cake which is enjoyed pretty much any time of day (including breakfast!). It is unbelievably simple to make and uses just one bowl (like my raspberry & almond cake), so you don’t even need to worry about the washing up.
This plum yogurt cake doesn’t include butter, which is very typical of sponge cakes. Instead, the fat comes from a combination of Greek yogurt and olive oil. This helps create a beautifully soft texture which stays moist for longer than if you used butter.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- It is a super easy one bowl cake recipe. Ideal for all baking abilities.
- It is perfect for using an abundance of plums.
- It looks impressive and is ideal for serving to friends for teatime or pudding.
- It is full of flavour and texture. Imagine a soft, moist sponge, infused with sweet vanilla, topped with sliced plums and crunchy demerara sugar.
- It is so versatile – you can switch up the fruit according to whatever is in season.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Caster sugar – also known as superfine sugar in the US.
Plums – Opt for small, ripe plums – any colour you like! You want plums that are just slightly squidgy but still firm to touch. Give them a light squeeze between your fingers to test the ripeness. If they are as hard, they aren’t quite ready yet. If they are too soft, use them to make a delicious plum crumble or fruit pie. You want a slight give and bounce but not completely soft.
Substitutions and Variations:
Olive oil – swap for a flavourless oil like sunflower or vegetable oil, if you prefer. Avoid using extra virgin olive oil as it is rather expensive and there’s no need in a cake like this.
Sugar – you can swap the caster sugar for granulated sugar or golden caster sugar. For the topping, you can use any brown sugar if you don’t have demerara. You will still get the toffee-ish flavour, but it won’t be quite as crunchy.
Fruit – If plums aren’t in season, you can use all sorts of fruit in this recipe. Stone fruit like apricots, peaches and nectarines work well. So do berries like raspberries, cherries, blackberries and/or blueberries.
Spices – swap the lemon zest for orange zest. Or add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the plums before laying on the cake.
Here’s how to make this easy plum yogurt cake:
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.
FIRST: Preheat the oven at 180c/160c fan/350F. Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large bowl. Rub the two together with your fingertips until combined.
TWO: Prepare the plums by slicing the plums in half and remove the stone.
THREE: Cut into slices (not too thin, not too thick). I like a chunkier slice but you can slice it to your preference.
FOUR: Add the eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract to the lemon sugar and whisk until pale, light and bubbly – this takes approximately one minute.
FIVE: Add the yogurt, followed by the olive oil, and whisk until fully combined.
SIX: Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt and, using a spatula, fold gently until a few streaks of flour remain.
SEVEN: Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth over the surface using a spatula. Arrange the plum slices on top.
EIGHT: Sprinkle it with demerara sugar (this adds a delicious crunch). Bake in the oven for about 50-55 minutes – or until golden brown and the sponge springs back or a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cooking Tips:
Ripe plums: make sure your plums are perfectly ripe before making this cake (they should just be firm to touch). If they are under ripe, they won’t taste as sweet. Equally, if they are overripe, they will make the plum yogurt cake soggy.
Don’t overbeat the batter: please don’t stress if there are a few lumps in the batter, they will dissolve as the cake bakes. It is better to have a slightly lumpy batter rather than overbeating it, which makes the cake tough.
Salt: adding a pinch of salt to the cream won’t make it taste salty. Instead, it helps cut through the richness and balance out the sweetness of the vanilla.
Cold cream: whenever you want to whip cream, use it straight from the fridge. For some reason it whips better and quicker when fridge-cold, I find.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any type of plums you wish, as long as they are ripe. You can even use a mixture for a pretty multicolour effect.
Using Greek yogurt in your cake batter helps create the most beautifully moist, soft cake. It also adds a slight tangy flavour. The combination of yogurt and olive oil in this plum yogurt cake also means it keeps its lovely texture over a few days.
Absolutely. Other stone fruits like apricots, nectarines and peaches work really well in the summer. Alternatively, scatter with berries like pitted and halved cherries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries. I like to adjust to whatever is in season.
There is no need to peel the plums before baking this plum yogurt cake. In fact, the peel helps the slices keep their shape which makes for a prettier looking cake.
No, it doesn’t have the fat content necessary for this cake and it won’t be as moist. Use full-fat here for the best results!
Other recipes you might enjoy:
If you like the sound of this plum yogurt cake, try my French “gâteau au yaourt”. Also don’t miss my brown butter peaches and cream or my caramelised banana upside down cake.
Try these…
Easy Baking Recipes
Lemon Loaf Cake
Easy Baking Recipes
Raspberry and Chocolate Cake
Easy Baking Recipes
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
If you tried this Plum Yogurt Cake or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a comment and let us know how it went!
Plum Yogurt Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 200 g caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 1 lemon, zested
- 5-6 small, ripe plums
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 250 g full-fat Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 150 ml olive oil
- 250 g plain flour
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 2 tbsp demerara sugar, for sprinkling
For the vanilla whipped cream:
- 150 ml double cream, cold from the fridge
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract, or to taste
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt, optional
Instructions
For the plum yogurt cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/350°F. Grease the base and sides of a 18 cm (7-inch) round loose-based or springform tin with butter and line the base with non-stick baking paper (if using a loose-based tin, you may wish to line the sides too).
- First make the lemon sugar: Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large bowl. Rub the two together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist, lightly lemon coloured and filled with the zesty lemon fragrance. Set aside.
- Next, prepare the plums: slice them in half and remove the stone. Cut into slices (not too thin, not too thick). I like a chunkier slice but you can slice it to your preference.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract to the lemon sugar and whisk until pale, light and bubbly – this takes approximately one minute. You can use an electric whisk if you like but definitely not necessary for this cake.
- Add the yogurt, followed by the olive oil, and whisk until fully combined.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt and, using a spatula, fold gently until a few streaks of flour remain. Small lumps in the batter are totally fine – don’t be tempted to over-mix!
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth over the surface using a spatula. Arrange the plum slices on top, on their sides. Sprinkle it with demerara sugar (this adds a delicious crunch).
- Bake in the oven for about 50-55 minutes – or until golden brown and the sponge springs back or a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Have a look at about 45 minutes – if the cake is browning too quickly, then cover in a tent of aluminium foil and continue to bake.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then carefully run a butter knife around the edge and remove the cake from the tin. Return to the wire rack to finish cooling completely.
For the optional vanilla whipped cream:
- Pour the cream into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk just until soft peaks start to form (you can do this by hand or using an electric whisk). Take care not to over whisk… although if you do and it becomes a little too firm (but isn’t at the butter stage), simply pour in some un-whipped cream and use a spoon or rubber spatula to fold it into the stiff cream. Taste and add a pinch of salt, if desired.
- Cut the cake into slices and serve with a spoonful of the softly whipped vanilla cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This cake is so delicious, really easy to make and doesn’t dry out over time. Such a good way to bake with plums!