A cardamom-spiced coffee cake layered with plums and a thick, buttery crumb topping ~ cozy, unfussy, and easy to love.

This late-summer cardamom plum cake nods to Central Europe (Zwetschgenkuchen, Pflaumenkuchen) a true afternoon coffee classic. Prune plums are traditional, but black or red plums bring gorgeous color; either way, the jammy fruit meets a cardamom-scented cake and a buttery crumb for an easy delicious snack cake.



Cardamom plum cake baking hints
PAN: I use my springform pan so I don’t have to worry about overflows no matter how high I pile my plums. It releases from the pan neatly for slicing and serving. (With fruit this pretty you really want to show it off.)
PLUMS: Look for ripe but firm plums, avoid soft or over ripe fruit. Any of these varieties work:
- Black plums ~ sweet, low-acid; bake soft and jammy.
- Red plums ~ juicy sweet-tart; great contrast for buttery crumb.
- Yellow plums ~ mild, honeyed; boost with brown sugar + lemon (lovely with cardamom.)
- Greengage ~ very sweet, floral; cut back sugar a bit ~ almond extract works well here.
- Italian prune ~ firm, less juicy; slices keep their shape.

store and freeze
Storage: 1–2 days at room temp.
Freeze slices up to 2 months.
Rewarm at 300°F for 8–10 min to refresh the crumb.


Cardamom Plum Cake
Equipment
- 9" springform pan
Ingredients
crumble topping
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
cake
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup salted butter , at room temperature
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground mace or nutmeg
- 2 large eggs , at room temperature
- 1/4 cup sour cream or full fat yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
plums
- 5-6 plums, pitted and sliced, this is approximate as plums vary in size. Use enough slices to cover the top of the cake batter, overlapping slightly.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and butter and flour your 9" springform pan.
crumble topping
- First make the crumble topping. Put the softened 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, 3/4 cup flour and 3/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl and use your fingers to combine into a crumbly texture. Take the time to get all the butter evenly incorporated. Set aside.
cake
- Using a stand mixer or electric beaters cream the 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup salted butter , 1 tsp ground cardamom and 1/4 tsp ground mace or nutmeg until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as necessary.
- Beat in the 2 large eggs , one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each one.
- Blend in the 1/4 cup sour cream or full fat yogurt and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- With the mixer on low add the 1 tsp baking powder and then slowly add the 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour until everything is incorporated. Finish mixing with a silicone spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Turn into your prepared pan and spread out evenly.
plums
- Slice the plums and arrange over the cake batter to cover the surface completely. You can overlap them slightly. I like to start at the outer edge and work inwards. See photos for reference. Top with the crumble, using your fingers to press it together into larger crumbs as you add it.
- Slide into the oven and bake for about 50 minutes or until risen and slightly golden. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with moist crumbs but no wet batter.
- Let the cake cool for about 10-15 minutes then carefully remove the springform pan sides, I like to run a thin knife around the edges to loosen first.
More coffee cakes























I used some Italian plums gifted by my neighbor. Beautiful presentation and flavor. I’ll double the cardamom (for the love of cardamom) and double sour cream (or yogurt) for the next time as it was a bit dry, probably due to the fact the plums were not as juicy as a larger variety.
Always love your recipes.
Sounds like a delicious plan and yes, I bet the Italian plums are a bit less juicy.
Hi Sue,
This cake looks divine! I love cardamom. Would like to make it for Thanksgiving for a crowd. Do you think it would be good to double the recipe and put in a 9 x 13 pan?
Thank you. Love your recipes. 🙂
I think that should work fine Diana, but I haven’t tried to to know for sure.
I think that should work, if you have too much batter just hold back some for a couple of muffins.
I think that this is a very luscious looking cake. Love anything with Plums.
Why do commentators have to be so darn rude!! Read the recipe properly!!
Oh my goodness..
Oh my goodness…..this Cardamom Plum Cake is outstanding! A perfect recipe! Thank you.
Preparing to make this recipe but noticed from your photos that the bottom of the cake is burnt. This is not gently browned but blackened. Would be more appetizing if you changed your photos and reviewed cooking time…possibly reduced time in the oven and pull at 40-45 min.
Sometimes the photo editing creates a darker appearance, the bottom was browned, but not burnt.
I made this today. It is as beautiful as the photo and is so delicious! And the house smells heavenly! It was an easy recipe to make. Love that you shared this while beautiful ripe plums are plentiful!
So many plums…and so hard to resist when I’m shopping!
I made this with mottled pluots. Unfortunately, the recipe is missing when the baker should put the strudel on top of the plums. Also, I had to bake this 10 minutes longer and the strut was not completely brown. It tasted fine but a baker has to read around this recipe…
Made this this morning. Delicious.