Plum Upside Down Cake with a hint of cinnamon, a delicious Autumn dessert recipe that goes down well with the whole family. It's a very easy to make pudding that doesn't require lots of ingredients, and makes the most of the fresh seasonal produce.
Plums are one of my favourite Autumn fruit, along with apples, quinces and pumpkins. And what they all have in common is that they all go very well with cinnamon, the spice that gives flavour and colour to any Fall treat.
When they are ripe, plums are very juicy and sweet, and absolutely delicious on their own or in any dessert. And this plum upside down cake doesn't fail to deliver when it comes to perfect taste and texture.
I am no stranger to upside down cakes, my Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Blackberry Upside Down Cake, Fig Upside Down Cake and Apple Upside Down Cake worked so well, I decided experimenting with other fruit and flavours too. And I am sure I will be experimenting with more soon.
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What is an upside down cake?
An upside down cake is a cake that is baked with the filling down and the sponge up, and it's then flipped over when it's baked to have the right side up. Perhaps the most famous variation is pineapple upside down cake, but other fruit work as well.
Baking is the way to go, but the upside down cake also works in a frying pan cooked on the stove top. My Banana Upside Down Cake in a Frying Pan is cooked to perfection in just under 15 minutes.
Ingredients needed to make a plum upside down cake
- plums - any variety works well, the ones I used were smaller, so depending on the size of the plums you have, you might need to use more or less plums
- flour - plain flour works well here, no need for self-raising flour
- granulated sugar - for the batter
- eggs - I used 3 small eggs, if you have medium or large, you can use only 2
- butter - soften, but not melted
- cinnamon - adds a nice touch to the plums
- light brown sugar - used for the bottom of the pan
- baking powder & bicarb of soda - help with the fluffy texture
- milk - to loosen up the batter, full-fat milk is the best
Variations
Apart from apples and pineapples, this upside down cake works with a large variety of fruit. If you don't have enough plums, you can fill in the gaps with blueberries or grapes and follow exact same steps to bake it.
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- Cut the plums in half and remove the pits
- Butter an oven-proof dish or a cake tin with plenty of butter, scatter the light brown sugar and cinnamon over, and arrange the plums so there are no gaps
- In a blender or food processor, add the rest of the ingredients and blitz to get a smooth paste (see photo no 4)
4. Spread the batter evenly over the plums, and bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 25-30 minutes until the sponge is golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
5. Leave the cake to cool down for 10-15 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake.
6. Place a large plate on top of the tin, and flip the cake over so that the plum filling faces now up
Expert tips
The plums need to be ripe and juicy for the cake to have a lovely texture, but make sure they are not too soft, as otherwise the filling will be more jam-like. While the plums do soften while in the oven, you should still be able to see the shape of the plums.
It might seem like there isn't enough batter to cover the whole cake, but the sponge rises so well, that when baked, the cake will have a good height, so there is no need to double up the ingredients, unless you bake it in a larger pan and use a lot more plums too.
Recipe FAQs
Once the cake comes out of the oven, let it cool down for 10-15 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the edges over the dish/tin, place a large plate over and flip. It the cake cools down completely, the juices at the bottom of the pan will make the plum filling stick badly, so the cake won't look nice anymore.
Other plum desserts
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Plum Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- 10 plums, pit removed and cut in half (or enough to cover the bottom of the pan/dish)
- 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 100 g plain flour
- 100 g butter, soften (+ more butter to grease the pan)
- 3 small eggs (or 2 large eggs)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
- Grease the cake tin or dish with butter, and sprinkle the cinnamon and light brown sugar over.
- Cut the plums in half, remove the pits, and arrange each half over the bottom of the tin so there is no gap between them.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to a blender or a food processor, and blitz everything to a smooth texture.
- Spread the batter over the plums.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the sponge is golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Run a sharp knife around the edges of the tin, place a large plate over, and flip the cake so that they plums face up.
- Serve warm or cold.
Notes
- Click on the US Customary link to see the measurements displayed in cups and ounces.
- The servings can be adjusted by clicking the number next to Servings.
- The plums need to be ripe and juicy for the cake to have a lovely texture, but make sure they are not too soft, as otherwise the filling will be more jam-like. While the plums do soften while in the oven, you should still be able to see the shape of the plums.
- It might seem like there isn't enough batter to cover the whole cake, but the sponge rises so well, that when baked, the cake will have a good height, so there is no need to double up the ingredients, unless you bake it in a larger pan and use a lot more plums too.
Chris says
you have omitted sugar from batter recipe- I would think 1/2 cup?
Daniela Apostol says
Hi! Thank you for letting me know, indeed I forgot to add the granulated sugar, I have edited the recipe card now.