Delicious and quick plum cake recipe with crumble for a simple sheet cake. Plum cake recipe for a sheet of plum cake with crumble made very easy and simple. Soft, moist and a little crunchy – that’s what our best plum cake tastes like.
🇩🇪🇺🇸One recipe, two kitchens — grams ⇄ cups, switch right in the card.
German plum cake is the cake that shows up on every Kaffeetisch in late summer, and the secret is the plum itself. Zwetschgen — sold in the US as Italian prune plums — are dense, freestone and far less watery than round supermarket plums, which is exactly why the base stays crisp instead of turning to mush. They hit American farmers markets from roughly mid-August into September. Here is the traditional sheet-pan version with Streusel, plus how to adapt it if prune plums are not available. More seasonal German recipes here.
Best plum cake recipe with crumble as a quick and easy sheet cake. Easy plum cake recipe without yeast and without milk. Delicious plum cake recipe as instructions for baking with plums or better plums. The sheet cake can be baked on a tray or in a springform pan and does not require any waiting time. Quick, soft, smooth, juicy and also perfectly crispy due to the crumble – this is how we prefer to enjoy our plum cake.
2 kgpurple plums (quantity may vary according to preference)
90 gsugar
300 gcake flour
150 gmargarine, vegetable (soft)
12 gvanilla sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200 °C.
Allow the ingredients for the shortbread to blend in a food processor until a firm sticky dough is formed.
Now place this shortcrust pastry in a square springform pan that has been previously lined with baking paper. With a little flour, spread the dough over the entire surface with your fingers or a small pastry roller. Alternatively, you can use a baking tray with a baking frame instead of the springform pan.
Wash, core and quarter the plums. Insert the plum pieces slightly on edge into the shortcrust pastry.
Now mix the crumbles in the food processor. I first add sugar, then flour and finally the soft almost liquid butter or margarine. Now spread the crumble on the plums.
Bake the cake at 200 °C for about 40 minutes. Then let cool and remove the edges of the springform pan before serving. Start 40 minutes timer here
Nutrition per serving
347kcal
16 gFat
47 gCarbs
6 gProtein
19 gSugar
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Instructions for my plum cake recipe with crumble
First, preheat the oven to 200° degrees (top/bottom heat). For the shortcrust pastry, have the ingredients mixed in a food processor.
Pour the slightly sticky dough into a square springform pan that has been previously lined with baking paper. Spread the dough over the entire surface with the help of a little flour with your fingers or a small pastry roller.
Now press washed and quartered plums on edge a bit into the on the shortcrust pastry. Mix the crumble in the following in the food processor. I take first sugar, then flour and finally the almost liquid butter as order. Streusel then spread on the plums.
The cake is then baked at 200° degrees for about 40 minutes. Then let cool and remove the edges of the springform pan before serving.
This cake recipe just works every time. It’s a quick cake that goes down well anywhere and the streusel makes it popular with young and old. Simple plum cakes without the crumble are also traditionally very popular. However, plums quickly lack the delicious sweetness that is only added by streusel. This combination of sweetness and tartness is what makes our plum cake recipe so perfect. With the crunchy crumbles, you have the best contrast to the soft base and juicy topping.
Delicious and quick plum cake with crumble for a sheet of plum cake…
Plum cake recipe with crumble – Quick and easy sheet cake
Using shortcrust pastry as the cake base, this plum cake recipe is quick to make. Unlike our plum cake recipe with yeast, which needs to rise for about an hour before baking. With a yeast dough, the base is still a bit softer and more bread-like. However, I prefer my plum cake with shortcrust pastry. It’s quick to make and tastes perfect with the plums.
I like to make the fruitcake as a whole sheet, but also in different sized springform pans. My small springform pan in the pictures has a size of 28x18cm whereby I then halve the recipe amount. Also a baking frame with baking tray is suitable for baking. The plums become soft by baking and the juice bubbles and runs like something. For this reason, I prefer to use a taller springform pan instead of a baking sheet.
Difference between Moyer plum, Damsons plum and Santa Rosa or Satsuma plums
So why are plums more suitable than prunes for a plum cake recipe? Plums are plums, and they are the perfect subspecies for a plum cake. The round Santa Rosa and Satsuma plums are too soft and are therefore popular for jams. The elongated Moyer and Damsons plums have the perfect consistency as a cake fruit. They are not too soft and they do not melt immediately. It is also easier to remove the stone from plums.
So the plum cake remains a plum cake, even if we use the Moyer and Damsons plum variety for baking. I am delighted every year when I discover the first plums while shopping and immediately have to bake my first plum cake of the year. After all, you have to review whether the plums already taste good or whether you should rather wait a few more weeks. You can therefore see in the pictures my first plum cake this summer. My conclusion: the plums are already perfect for my plum cake recipe.
Crumble cake as a fruit cake on the tray
If you didn’t buy enough plums for the plum cake recipe, you can also just make a strip as a pure crumble cake. Alternatively, you can add other fruit options like apples, cherries or peaches or bake the whole cake with them. You can also find the recipe for my plum cake as a quick and easy apple pie recipe on my food blog.
Feel free to try your own adaptations depending on the season and your preferences. At winter time, I like to mix some additional cinnamon into the crumble. If it is still high summer, I like to add some lemon or coconut flakes to the crumble. However, I only change something in the plum cake recipe when I feel I need a little variation.
This plum cake is definitely one of my favorites and will be baked again and again, as long as the plums look good when I go shopping. Maybe I’ll try a cake variation with strawberries for you soon. I’m happy if you also like the cake as much as we do and look forward to your next visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which plums should I use for German plum cake?
Italian prune plums (Zwetschgen) are the right choice: small, oval, deep purple, firm, and freestone so the pit slips out cleanly. Their low water content is what keeps the base from going soggy. If you can only find round red or black plums, slice them and let them drain on paper towels for 20 minutes first, and add an extra tablespoon of semolina to the base.
How do I stop the bottom from getting soggy?
Sprinkle a thin layer of semolina, fine breadcrumbs or ground almonds over the dough before you lay down the plums. It absorbs the released juice during baking without changing the flavor. Also arrange the plums cut-side up, standing slightly on edge, so the juice runs down rather than pooling on the dough.
Can I make it ahead or freeze it?
The cake is at its best on day one but keeps well covered at room temperature for two days — the Streusel softens slightly but the flavor deepens. It also freezes well: cut into portions, freeze flat, and thaw at room temperature. Give it 5 minutes in a warm oven to bring the crumble back to life.
More late-summer baking: Plum Crumble Cake with Yeast Dough and Apple Crumble Cake.
I have been baking and cooking for my family and community for years — honest recipes, all tested in my own kitchen and explained step by step so they turn out reliably for you too.
I saw the short video on YouTube and the cake was totally delicious. Thanks for the recipe, and please keep more recipes coming
0
MMyGermanBakeryTeam2 years ago
Thank you, Marlene! I’ve been hard at work, and new recipes and videos are coming soon on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
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Comments 2
I saw the short video on YouTube and the cake was totally delicious. Thanks for the recipe, and please keep more recipes coming
Thank you, Marlene! I’ve been hard at work, and new recipes and videos are coming soon on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.