This gluten-free plum cake recipe is slightly adapted from the ever popular Original Plum Torte recipe by Marian Burros, published in the New York Times.
Almonds and plums are a match made in heaven in this gluten-free plum cake!
In the original New York Times recipe, the plums are halved and placed on top of the cake batter, cut-side down. We tested this method multiple times with the gluten-free batter, and while it was delicious, the plums sank too far into the batter. For a prettier cake, we opted to quarter the plums. You can absolutely use halved plums if you prefer!
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Ingredients
- almond flour
- brown rice flour
- cinnamon
- baking powder
- salt
- 1 lemon
- sugar
- butter
- 2 large eggs
- almond extract
- 3 ripe, but firm, red or black plums
Method
Preheat the oven and grease a 9.5-inch (24-cm) springform pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, brown rice flour, part of the cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Mix the remaining cinnamon and part of the sugar in a bowl and set aside.
Using a handheld mixer on medium speed, or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the lemon zest, sugar, and butter until light and fluffy, about a minute. Scrape down as needed.
Add one egg and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds.
Add the second egg, along with the almond extract, and mix the batter until everything is fully incorporated, about 30 seconds.
Mix the dry gluten-free flour ingredients to the wet batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and mix until just combined, about 15-20 seconds.
Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
Arrange the plum slices on top of the cake batter in a circular pattern.
Drizzle the plums with the lemon juice, then sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar mix.
Bake the gluten-free plum cake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out dry, about 45-47 minutes. Cool before serving.
Notes & Tips
You can use a half cup (100 g) of sugar in this cake if you want it less sweet. The cake will be drier, however, you can serve it with yogurt (as more of a breakfast cake), whipped cream, or ice cream to balance it out.
Substitutions
Use whichever kinds of plum you like. You can even use smaller prune plums for gluten-free plum cake and just cut them in half, as per the NYT recipe. You’ll need about 11-12 prune plums to do this.
Almond Flour vs. Almond Meal – Both are made from ground almonds, though almond flour is typically made from blanched almonds and is ground fine. Meal, on the other hand, typically still contains the skins and has a more coarse grind than flour. The latter, as a result, is often cheaper. They cannot always be used interchangeably, but in some cases a 1:1 swap is fine. We tested this recipe with almond flour only, but suspect almond meal would work, aside from perhaps creating a more dense texture. If you try this substitute, please let us know. Check out this post to make your own almond flour.
Feel free to use all-purpose, like Marian Burros originally did, if you would rather.
If you have a larger or smaller springform pan, use that instead and adjust the bake time accordingly.
Ground cardamom is lovely substitution for cinnamon.
Any summer stone fruit – peaches, plums, cherries, or a combination – would be great in this cake!
More Great Summer Stone Fruit Recipes
Vegan Peach Thumbprint Cookies
Recipe
Gluten-Free Plum Cake
Description
Equipment
- 9.5-inch (24 cm) springform pan
- Medium bowl
- Whisk
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- Stand or hand mixer
- Spatula
Ingredients
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ⅔ cup + 2 teaspoons sugar, divided
- ½ cup butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 3 red or black plums, ripe but firm, seeded and halved and quartered (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9.5-inch (24 cm) springform pan (see notes).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, brown rice flour, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Mix remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon and 2 teaspoons (10 grams) sugar in a bowl and set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or handheld mixer on medium speed, cream together the lemon zest, sugar, and butter until light and fluffy, about a minute. Scrape down as needed.
- Add one egg and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds.
- Add the second egg along with the almond extract and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds.
- Add the dry mixture to wet, reduce the speed to low, and mix until just combined, about 15-20 seconds. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth it out with the back of a spoon.
- Place the plum slices onto the batter in a circular pattern cut-side-down to cover the top.
- Drizzle with lemon juice, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix.
- Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out dry, about 45-47 minutes. Cool before serving.
Notes
- If you have a larger or smaller springform pan, feel free to use that instead and adjust the bake time accordingly.
- You can use a half cup (100 grams) of sugar in this cake if you want it less sweet. The cake will be drier, but you can serve it with yogurt (as more of a breakfast cake) or whipped cream or ice cream to balance it out.
- Use whatever kind of plum you like. You can use smaller prune plums for this and just cut them in half, as per the NYT recipe. You’ll need about 11-12 plums.
Katy Ionis says
Soooo good! I used cardamom in place of cinnamon and 120g sugar. It was a dreamy cake. Moist and tender crumb, my plums all kind of sank and were perfect sour and sweet bursts and the sugar on top caramelized into a beautiful little crust. And easy! Will definitely be making it again.
Christine says
Fantastic recipe, easy to make and the cake turned out absolutely delicious. I didn’t have a large enough spring form so used a smaller one and little loaf tin. Perfect. Thank you.