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spiced streusel plum cake

spiced streusel plum cake

Megan
this spiced streusel plum cake is made from a lightly spiced vanilla cake, topped with slices of fresh late summer plums. add the spiced walnut streusel and a dusting of powdered sugar. its a cake that demands to be enjoyed over a warm cup of coffee.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Cooling 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American

Equipment

  • 9" (23cm) springform pan
  • parchment paper
  • stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters

Ingredients
  

spiced walnut streusel

  • 1 c (120g) all purpose flour
  • ½ c (100g) light brown sugar
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground cardamom
  • 6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
  • ½ c (60g) chopped walnuts sub nut of choice (pecan and pistachio would be delicious)

spiced vanilla cake

  • 1 c (120g) all purpose flour
  • 1 c (120g) cake flour see notes
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground cardamom
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 c (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest (1-2 medium lemons)
  • ¼ c (59ml) canola oil sub olive oil
  • 4 tbsp (56g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 (114g) large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 ½ tsp (15ml) vanilla extract
  • ½ c (118ml) buttermilk see notes
  • 6-8 plums of choice, sliced
  • powdered sugar, for topping

Instructions
 

spiced walnut streusel

  • Whisk together the dry ingredients for the streusel topping in a small mixing bowl.
    Work in the cubes of butter until the mixture comes together. The mixture should resemble coarse pieces of sand, with some larger pieces mixed in. Set the bowl in the fridge to chill while preparing the loaf cake.

spiced plum cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350F (177C). Line a 9" (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper, along the bottom. Lightly grease the sides of the pan. Set aside.
    If making your own buttermilk, add 2 teaspoon lemon juice to the ½ c room temperature whole milk now. It needs about 10 minutes to curdle.
  • In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cardamom, ground cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
  • Zest the lemon into a small bowl filled with sugar. Rub the sugar and zest together until a wet sand like texture forms.
  • Using a whisk (by hand) or electric mixer with beaters or paddle attachment, beat together the oil and butter together until smooth and well combined.
  • With the mixer on low, slowly stream in the lemon sugar into the oil butter mixture untill all the sugar is added. Increase the speed to mediumm, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Add eggs and vanilla extract, beating each one for about 20 seconds on medium speed before adding the next.
  • Stir in the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet, alternating in this order: dry, buttermilk, dry, buttermilk, dry. Leave a few flour or milk streaks before adding the next .
  • Pour batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top of the batter. Top with sliced plums.
    spiced streusel plum cake
  • Top the batter with the chilled streusel topping. Feel free to clump pieces together for larger crumbles or scatter smaller pieces over the top of the batter.
    Gently press the struesel into the cake batter and plums.
    spiced streusel plum cake
  • Bake at 350 F (177C) for 50-60 minutes. Around 45 minutes, do the first check of the cake. Check to make sure the struesel isn't burning. If the top is browning too much, place a tent foil over the top for the remainder of the time. 
    Bake an additional 5 minutes before checking for doneness. The edges of the cake will have pulled slighly from the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If the toothpick comes out wet or "gummy," check every 5-10 until done.
  • Remove the plum cake from the oven to cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
  • Cool the cake an additional 30-45 minutes on the cooling rack if desired. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar, slice and enjoy!

Notes

cake flour: to make your own DIY cake flour, measure out 1 c all purpose flour. scoop out 2 tablespoon flour. add back in 2 tablespoon cornstarch. sift together 3-4 times. 
buttermilk: to make your own DIY buttermilk, measure out ½ c milk. add in 2 teaspoon lemon juice. mix together. let sit for 10 minutes to curdle.
ground cardamom: this spice is so lovely when paired with plums. if you don't like cardamom or simply don't have any on hand, feel free to use ground ginger or extra ground cinnamon. if using either of these as a substitute for the cardamom, use double the amount of cardamom ( ½ teaspoon | 1 teaspoon instead of ¼ teaspoon | ½ tsp). 
Keyword plum cake, spiced plum cake, spiced streusel cake, summer cake
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