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A slice of plum almond cake on a brown ceramic plate.
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4.82 / 27 votes

Plum Almond Cake

This plum almond cake, an Italian dessert known as Torta di Prugne e Mandorle, is easy to make from scratch with flour, almond meal, sugar, butter, lemon, and plums. Addictively delicious.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 10 to 12 servings
Calories: 343

Equipment

  • 8- or 9-inch (20- or 23-cm) springform pan

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sunflower or other mild vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
  • 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
  • 1/2 cup almond meal or almond flour, (you can find this almost anywhere these days, even at Trader Joe's)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half or whole milk
  • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon
  • 1 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 7 to 9 plums (any variety), halved and pitted but not peeled
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 2 tablespoons (1 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
US - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly oil an 8- or 9-inch springform pan. Dust the pan with flour and tap out any excess.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, half-and-half (or milk, if using), lemon juice and zest, the 1 cup (8 ounces) sugar, and the almond extract until thoroughly combined. Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and whisk just until combined.
  • Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the plum halves, cut side up, atop the batter. In a bowl, combine the almonds, the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and the butter and mix well. Dot the almond topping over the cake.
  • Bake the cake until the surface is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. (If using an 8-inch pan, you may need to bake it longer, being careful to cover the outer edges of the cake with a strip of foil if they begin to brown.)
  • Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Remove the ring from the pan and place the cake on a serving platter. Cut into wedges and serve warm or, if you can wait, at room temperature.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 72mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 26g