French Almond Plum Cake
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This delicious rustic-elegant French Almond Plum Cake recipe features a delightfully delicate crumb infused with the flavor of almonds and juicy plums. It’s easy to make, works equally well with apricots or cherries, and is a guaranteed hit wherever you serve it!
The French love their plums and when in season the end of summer through early fall you’ll find them featured in a variety of delicious ways. Everything from clafoutis, flaugnardes and galettes to panna cotta, tarts, served alongside duck or transformed into sweet chilled soups, plums (including the tiny mirabelle’s, “la quetsche”) are revered for their flavor and versatility.
Here is a delicious French almond plum cake I developed after getting back from our recent family trip through France and inspired by some of our indulgent samplings across Normandy, Picardy, Brittany, Ille-de-France and the Loire Valley.
This delicious French Almond Plum Cake features a delightfully delicate crumb infused with the flavor of almonds and the moistness of juicy plums that gently seep into the cake while baking. It’s very easy to make and is always a hit wherever I serve it.
French Almond Plum Cake Recipe
Let’s get started!
Beat the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs, almond extract, vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture along with the lemon zest and beat until combined.
Spoon the batter into the greased springform and spread it evenly.
Toss the halved stone fruit in a bowl with the lemon juice and 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar.
Place the stone fruits on top of the batter skin side up leaving a little space in between each fruit.
Sprinkle with flaked or slivered almonds.
Bake for one hour in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F. Remove and let cool completely. Remove the rim of the springform pan.
If desired lightly dust the cake with some powdered sugar.
Serve the cake as is or with a dollop of whipped cream of crème fraîche.
Enjoy!
Can I Substitute Other Fruits in This Cake?
You sure can. This cake serves as wonderfully versatile base recipe for other stone fruits. Apricots and cherries are two other exceptionally delicious options that pair beautifully with almonds. I highly recommend you try all three versions! French Almond Apricot Cake, French Almond Cherry Cake, French Almond Plum Cake…they’re all amazing!
How Well Does This Cake Store?
This cake is best enjoyed the day of while it’s still lightly crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. But kept in an airtight container it will easily store for up to two days.
Can I Freeze French Almond Plum Cake?
Yes. As already noted, if you want to retain a little light crispiness on the exterior crumb this cake is best enjoyed the same day but it can be frozen for up to a month. Remove it from the freezer and let it thaw at room temperature. You can also gently heat it up a little in the oven or microwave.
Be sure to also try my German Plum Cake!
For more delicious French goodies try my:
- Cherry Clafoutis
- Blackberry Clafoutis
- Nonnettes
- French Lavender Almond Cake
- French Almond Cake with Green Tea Honey Glaze
- Canelé
- Pot de Crème
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French Almond Plum Cake
Ingredients
- 12 Italian plums , or apricots or equivalent pitted cherries, washed and pitted (Italian plums recommended; more fleshy/less water
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- 2 large eggs , room temperature
- 1 teaspoon quality pure almond extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest , finely grated
- 1 teaspoon quality pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sliced (or slivered) almonds
- light dusting of powdered sugar (optional)
- crème fraîche or whipped cream for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8-10 inch springform (depending on how tall you want the cake. Bake a few minutes less if using 10 inch).
- Place the halved stone fruits in a bowl with the lemon juice, 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and stir to combine. Set aside. In a small bowl combine the flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate medium bowl beat the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs, almond extract, vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture along with the lemon zest and beat until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the greased springform and spread it evenly. Place the stone fruits on top of the batter skin side up leaving a little space in between each fruit. Sprinkle with flaked or slivered almonds. Bake for one hour. Remove and let cool completely. Remove the rim of the springform pan. If desired, lightly dust the cake with some powdered sugar. Serve the cake as is or with a dollop of whipped cream of crème fraîche.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet August 31, 2019
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Absolutely delicious and a new favorite in our home!!
That’s wonderful, thank you so much, Tara!
Made this using initially a 9” cake pan & the 2nd time using a greased parchment lined 9” springform pan. I used both times 1/2 Cup each of AP flour & super fine almond flour. I added an additional Tsp. of almond extract to the batter along with 1/2 Tsp. ginger to the batter. Before putting in the oven, I sprinkled 1/2 Tsp. cinnamon & 1 Tsp. vanilla sugar over the top. The cake pan took 45 minutes to cook with a soft center. The springform pan took 40 minutes & I took it out when cake tester was clean. My oven was set @ 350° & accurate. An hour would have been too much time.
Fantastic, Chris, thanks so much for the feedback!
Dreadful recipe. I cooked the ‘metric’ version, although several items were not converted from cups and had to translate cooking temperature 350F to 180C perhaps incorrectly as it cooked in 40 mins not 1 hour. Also confusing how many plums to use, 2 lb is definitely a lot more than 12 plums. Despite cooking in the smallest tin (again size not translated to cm from inches) ended us with a very flat cake. Disappointing result. Will not use these recipes again.
This was absolutely delicious, however I’m stumped as to why my plums and almonds completely sunk and were consumed by the cake batter while baking.
Thank you so much, JJ! Sinking fruit is usually a weight issue. What kind of plums are you using? Some varieties are heavier than others depending on water content. In any case, I recommend cutting the plums you’re using into smaller pieces.
Initially when I used Italian plums not regular sized plums, I pushed the fruit into the batter slightly instead of just touching the top of the batter. My cake swallowed up the plums so none really were visible. The second attempt I just laid the plums on top of the batter. The fruit didn’t sink.
I would recommend to put the plums skin side down, this way the plums do not sink into the cake. The cake is also a bit more dry that way.
How much butter is needed in metric for non Americans? I got stuck with cup sizes listed for metric so had to use another recipe but would like to come back and try this one. Thanks
Hi Violet, to the right of the ingredients list you can click on “Metric” and it will give you those measurements. Happy baking!
Kimberly, as with all of your recipes, this was fantastic, however 2lb. of Italian plums was about 24..so I froze what I couldn’t fit on top of the batter. I had great success using equal parts almond flour and all purpose, in case anyone was wondering. Thanks for all of the work you put into everything…very admirable!
Thank you so much for the compliment, Susie <3 Thank you also for the feedback and for your info about the almond flour, that will be very helpful for some of our readers.
Hi Kimberly,
I’ve made this cake twice with plums and I love the recipe, especially with the lemon zest, almond extract and lemony sugary plums. Both times the plums have sunk into the cake and are not seen on the top after baking. I’ve tried cutting them two different ways. The first time I cut in halves, the second time into wedges and made sure they were more firm the second time. What is the trick for the plums to be visible on top after baking?
Hi Dee, thank you so much! Sinking fruit is usually a weight issue. What kind of plums are you using? Some varieties are heavier than others depending on water content. In any case, I recommend cutting the plums you’re using into smaller pieces.