One Bowl Plum Tea Cake + Video

As beautiful as it is easy, this one bowl plum cake + video is what you need for the best of in season summer stone fruit!

There is something so nostalgic about plum cake for me, or really any stone fruit tea cake. My Czech background always involved a simple tea cake and my grandmother’s always hit the nail on the head for me. This one bowl cake is the closest thing I have made to her recipe. The best part is that it is made in a food processor and can be made in just one bowl. 

Another plus to this cake, besides it being made in one bowl, is that you can use any in season stone fruit, like apricots, or peaches for this as well. My love of summer apricots goes deep and when I get my hands on a batch of those this will be made again and again. 

The original recipe for this is from Zoe Bakes Cakes cookbook. I made a couple of modifications to it, very minor, just based on what I had available and the results were perfect. 

Knowing that people don’t want to hear my long rambling stories about my grandmother, and the perfect nostaligic recipe, I’ll spare you the details, but know that this Czech woman can bake and it is one of the things that meant the most to me growing up. With her, my grandfather, and mom escaping the old country at the height of the Soviet occupation in the late 60’s, they came to the States as refugees and rebuilt their lives after leaving literally everything behind but a couple of suitcases between the three of them. 

So I got to grow up with those old country recipes and while I don’t have any of her recipes written down, I can find great substitutes and this one is stellar all thanks to Zoe’s book that got me the closest thing to grandma’s recipe yet. This cake is perfect for breakfast, or to go with your morning tea or coffee, or as a dessert. And there is no shame in adding some vanilla ice cream to the side either!

Ingredients for One Bowl Plum Tea Cake

The ingredients are simple, and you can substitute various techniques if you need to, to create this cake, but I will need to modify steps just in case.

• All Purpose Flour
• Whole Wheat Flour
• Almond Flour
• Baking Powder
• Salt
• Sugar
• Unsalted Butter
• Large Eggs
• Vanilla Extract
• Almond Extract, optional
• Plums – Black, Red, or Italian
• Ground Cinnamon

Instructions for Plum Tea Cake Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Set aside. Note, you can also use a 9-inch cake pan as well. 
2. In your 9 or 13 cup food processor, (don’t use a small mini food processor here), blend together the butter and sugar until creamed together and turning a light yellow. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
3. Next blend, with the food processor on, blend in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the milk, and vanilla extract. 
4. Lastly, blend in the dry ingredients, flour, whole wheat flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Pulse the food processor until all the ingredients are combined and a dough has formed. You can alternatively use a large bowl and whisk together the dry ingredients, then add them into the food processor and blend in. 
5. The tea cake batter is thick, so scoop it into the pan and smooth out the top. It does not have to be perfectly smooth. 
6. Cut plums into quarters, and decorate the top of the cake batter with the sections of plum.
7. Bake for 45 minutes on the middle rack of the oven. 
8. While the cake bakes, stir together a sugar and cinnamon mixture. 
9. After 45 minutes, sprinkle the top of the cake with the cinnamon and sugar mixture, and return to the oven to bake another 15-20 minutes, or until the cake is done testing it with a toothpick that comes out nearly clean. 
10. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool in the springform pan, or cake pan, for 20 minutes. Remove the cake and allow it to complete cooling on a wire rack. 
11. Slice and serve.

Can I add in lemon to the tea cake?

Yes, adding lemon will give it a wonderful light essence! Add lemon zest into the batter while it is blending. 

Or, cardamom would be a delightful spice for a warm edge instead! 

What are other fruits I can use for this cake?

You can use any stone fruit, just adjust the amount as needed to top onto the cake batter.

• Cherries, pitted
• Nectarines
• Italian Prune Plums
• Peaches
• Apricots
• What are your favorites?

Can I make this without a food processor? 

Yes, you can make this with a stand mixer, or hand held mixer, but it will take more time to blend the ingredients together. I would also recommend mixing the flour mixture together in a bowl, before adding it all to the wet ingredients. With the food processor you can get away with not mixing the dry ingredients together before hand as it blends them so quickly. 

Can this be made with gluten-free flour?

Yes, but since I don’t bake gluten free traditionally, I don’t want to give improper directions on substitutions. I would assume a standard GF one-for-one flour would work well here. If you try it, please let me know. 

These old eastern European, German and Czech recipes make me so happy. I love living my heritage through food, and this is a fruit cake that will live on again and again.

More Inspired Homemade Home Recipes To Try

Plum and Peach Bourbon Cobblers

Italian Plum and Walnut Compote

Honey Plum Soy Chicken

How To Make Your Own Brown Sugar

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