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.
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.
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!
Be sure to also try our German Plum Cake!
For more delicious French goodies try our:
- Cherry Clafoutis
- Blackberry Clafoutis
- Nonnettes
- French Almond Cake with Lavender Lemon Glaze
- French Almond Cake with Green Tea Honey Glaze
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French Almond Plum Cake
Ingredients
- 12 medium plums, about 2 pounds, (preferably Italian plums) OR apricots or cherries , washed and pitted
- 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!
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.
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.
Lovely cake. Baked up beautifully, was moist and tasty. Will definitely be making again and trying with other fruits as well as a GF version for my GF friends. Thank you for the wonderful recipe Kimberly.
Thank you so much, Cori, I’m happy you enjoyed it! <3
Delicious! I made a gluten free version with Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 instead of all purpose flour. Could I use canned prune plums out of season?
I’m so glad, Anne, and thank you for that info about substituting GF flour! Yes, canned plums are perfectly fine, just be sure to thoroughly drain them.
I also wanted to add that I double the recipe and bake it on a buttered and floured sheet pan. That way there is a lot more cake to go around.
That’s a great idea, IT, thanks for sharing!
I just love this scrumptious cake. Ever since I found this recipe here a few years ago, I”ve never stopped making this cake…I just can’t live with out it. I even freeze plums just so I can bake it in the winter, and I make sure to never run out of almond flour. :) Please keep sharing more recipes.
Thank you so much, IT, I’m thrilled that this has become a regular in your home! <3
Hi Kimberly, the recipe looks delicious! But I was wondering if I could modify it to be gluten free, either by using almond flour alone, or substituting gluten free flour. Could this be made with just almond flour? Thank you!
Hi Kris, I haven’t tried that with this particular recipe so I can’t say for sure. If you do try it please let us know how it goes.
What is the weight of the 12 plums?
How does one swap cherries for plums if there is no weight or cups to judge by? Even swapping raspberries which is a good thought… how much?
Hi Carola, you’ll need about 2 pounds of fruit. Happy baking!
This is amazing. Thank you for this recipe. We got a bunch of European plums and I already made this pie twice. So delicious! Thank you.
Fantastic, Liliya, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Can I use frozen plums for this recipe. Can it be made gluten-free?
Hi Anne, yes you can, just allow them to thaw and thoroughly drain first. I haven’t made this gluten-free but you should be able to use a good GF all-purpose flour at a 1:1 ratio.
In September, when nothing is left but hard (unripe) refrigerated fruit, I used raspberries and it was delicious!
Great choice, Mary, I’m happy you enjoyed it and appreciate the feedback!
These has potential to be heavenly but was far too sweet for me. I’m not much of a baker so I’m afraid to make modifications. Can I just reduce the sugar?
Hi Stacy, yes you can. The general guideline for reducing sugar is that you can reduce it by up to 25% without it negatively impacting the texture.