Buttermilk Plum Cake is soft and tender with hints of cinnamon and ginger, along with spelt flour, juicy plums and dairy-free buttermilk. It’s made in one bowl and requires just 10 minutes prep time!
I’ve had a string of pumpkin recipes on the blog lately, so I thought I’d throw a pop of colour into the mix with this super easy and delicious Buttermilk Plum Cake. I adapted this recipe from Clean Eating Magazine, and made a few simple swaps to make it dairy-free. It’s the ultimate fall cake with warming spices and juicy plums, and goes perfectly with a hot mug of tea.
So put the kettle on and I’ll quickly run through how to make this recipe!
How do you make dairy-free buttermilk for this plum cake?
The original recipe from Clean Eating magazine called for buttermilk, but since I wanted to make this dessert dairy-free, I opted to make vegan buttermilk by combining almond milk and apple cider vinegar.
Making vegan buttermilk is super easy. For every one cup of buttermilk you need, just add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the bottom of a one-cup measuring cup (I’ve also used lemon juice). Then fill the remainder of the cup with almond milk (or another dairy-free milk). Let it sit for five minutes to allow the vinegar to curdle the milk. Then, just use as required in your recipe.
What ingredients do you need to make this buttermilk plum cake recipe?
- Plums (or plumcots)
- Almond milk
- Apple cider vinegar (ACV)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Almond extract
- Egg
- Spelt flour
- Cane sugar
- Cinnamon and ginger
- Baking powder and salt
Making this simple plum cake – it’s a one bowl situation!
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F and grease a 10-inch tart pan. A cake pan or springform pan will work too.
- In a 2-cup measuring cup, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of ACV and fill the cup to the 1 1/2 cup line with almond milk. Let sit for five minutes.
- In a large bowl, add the ACV/almond milk mixture, along with the oil, almond extract and egg. Whisk until combined.
- Add your dry ingredients to the same bowl (sift if lumpy) and whisk together until well combined.
- Slice each plum into eight wedges, leaving the skin on, and arrange on top of the cake. (They will sink into the batter a bit, and that’s okay). Sprinkle the top of the cake with cane sugar and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before removing from the tart pan and cutting into slices.
How do you store this buttermilk cake? Can you freeze plum cake?
This cake is best served the day it’s made while the plums are fresh and jammy. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 2-3 days. Since the cake has fresh fruit baked into the top and a high moisture content, it’s best not to store this cake at room temperature.
I placed a few slices in the freezer to see how the texture of the cake would hold up once it was frozen and thawed at room temperature. While the cake texture was fine, the plums were not jammy. So while you can freeze this cake in a pinch, I wouldn’t recommend it.
Some tips and substitutions for making buttermilk plum cake:
- If you don’t have spelt flour, you can use whole wheat flour. Just note that the cake will be a little denser.
- The recipe calls for cane sugar, but coconut sugar or granulated sugar will work too. With that said, if you opt to go with the sugar sprinkled on top, a course sugar, like cane or turbinado works best.
- While I used plumcots in this recipe, which are a 50/50 mix of plums and apricots, you can use plums, apricots, pluots or apriums. Check out this brief article that explains the difference.
- If you don’t have a 10-inch tart pan, this cake can be baked in a springform pan, regular cake pan or even a skillet. Just adjust the bake time slightly depending on the size of your pan.
Looking for other dairy free desserts? Check out these recipes on Crumb Top Baking:
- Chai Spice Cake with Orange Cardamom Frosting. This snack cake has a spongy texture with warm spices and a light and citrusy coconut whip.
- Vegan Pineapple Coconut Cupcakes. These are made with fresh pineapple and shredded coconut, and topped with a sweetened coconut whip.
- Dairy-Free Frozen Peach Cream Pie. This pie has a creamy peach and banana filling and grain-free almond crust.
Pin this Buttermilk Plum Cake to make for dessert!
If you make this Buttermilk Plum Cake, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below!
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Buttermilk Plum Cake (made Dairy-Free)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Dairy-Free
Description
Buttermilk Plum Cake is soft and tender with hints of cinnamon and ginger, along with spelt flour, juicy plums and dairy-free buttermilk. It’s made in one bowl and requires just 10 minutes prep time!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk (minus 1 1/2 tablespoons)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 cups spelt flour
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cane sugar, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 plums or plumcots
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F and grease a 10-inch tart pan with cooking spray.
- In a 2-cup measuring cup, add the apple cider vinegar and almond milk. The mixture should measure 1 1/2 cups. Let sit for five minutes to allow milk to curdle.
- In a large bowl, add the vinegar/almond milk mixture, along with the oil, almond extract and egg. Whisk until combined.
- In the same bowl, add the flour, 1/2 cup cane sugar, baking powder, spices and salt. (Sift in dry ingredients if lumpy). Whisk together until well combined.
- Slice each plum into eight wedges, leaving the skin on, and arrange on top of the cake. Don’t worry if the plums sink into the batter. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of cane sugar on top of the cake and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before removing from the tart pan and cutting into slices. While this cake is best served fresh, you can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 2-3 days.
Notes
- If you don’t have a 10-inch tart pan, you can use a springform pan or a regular cake pan. Just adjust the bake time slightly depending on the size of your pan.
- If you don’t have spelt flour, you can use whole wheat flour but it will result in a denser cake.
- The recipe calls for cane sugar, but coconut sugar or granulated sugar will work too. With that said, a courser sugar, like cane or turbinado, works best sprinkled on top.
- I used unsweetened almond milk to make the buttermilk, but you can use another type of dairy-free milk.
- While I used plumcots in this recipe, you can use plums, apricots, pluots or apriums, whatever you have available to you.
This recipe was adapted from Clean Eating Magazine’s Buttermilk Plum Cake.
That’s a beautiful cake and I love how buttermilk gives a lovely moist texture to bakes.
Thanks so much!
These are some seriously gorgeous looking plums and I love your cake batter recipe. Combining almond milk and ACV is pure genius. And I am such a fan of spelt. Absolutely no excuse not to make this cake:) Even though I am pretty sure I will not be able to score plums that look as good as yours:)
Thanks Milena! I certainly lucked into some lovely looking plums!
What a gorgeous cake, Leanne!! I love the vibrant, cheery colour so much. And what a great idea making the buttermilk with almond milk. I often add lemon juice or vinegar to make it as well as I rarely ever actually have buttermilk in the fridge and I often bake without dairy as well.
I rarely bake with plums so this is something I’d love to make soon. I’ll use my GF flour mix and let you know how it goes. Thanks for sharing another wonderful creation! pie
Yes, please let me know how it goes with GF flour! Thanks Dana!
One bowl is always good in my book, and when it looks as good as this – yes, definitely.
Thanks Jeff!
These are my favorite kind of cakes to eat! Love the gorgeous color that the plums give. And now I’m wishing I had a slice to go with my coffee!
Thanks Tasia! It’s great with coffee! 😉
This is such an amazing cake, Leanne – my mouth is absolutely watering just cooking at the photos! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks Katerina!
So easy and what a delicious, nutritious treat! Love this, Leannne. And how gorgeous are those plums!
Thanks Marissa!
One bowl? 10 minute-prep? You sure know how to treat your readers! And so so pretty! Pinned!
Thanks so much Annie!
My family loves plums, and this cake looks like something I feel I should make soon! I’m intrigued by the vegan buttermilk, I’ve never heard of it (or considered making it before). Neat!
Thanks Matt! The vegan buttermilk is super easy to make, and so is this cake. Hope you get to make it some time!
I’m so happy to still see recipes coming out with plums and peaches and all the stone fruits. They’re still in full swing here so I’ve been enjoying them! This cake looks fantastic, Leanne. I love baking with buttermilk!! Pinning for later 🙂
Thanks for pinning Katherine! I was happy I picked up these plums and they found their way into this cake!
This cake is stunning Leanne — those plums are gorgeous! I love making dairy free buttermilk — it adds such a nice tang to baked goods. And spelt flour has such a delicious flavor!
Thanks so much Marcie! Totally agree, love baking with DF buttermilk and spelt flour!
Wow this cake looks amazing! Perfect for fall.
The pictures are incredible! The colour really pops.
Thanks Terry! The plumcots are definitely bright and vibrant! Glad you like the photos!
Those plums are SUCH an amazing color!! WOW!! I am loving this recipe and I had no idea how to make vegan buttermilk until now – such a fun little tip! This cake would be perfect with a dollop of whipped cream paired with some decaf coffee for dessert! Yes please!
Thanks Haylie! I like the way you think! Although I’d probably go with coconut whip! 😉
Leanne, I can’t get over how gorgeous the color of those plums are! A lovely cake – plum cake is a family favorite. So cool how you made the dairy-free buttermilk!
Thanks so much Kelly! I always love baking with plumcots. They have a great colour!
Beautiful! For some strange reason, I don’t bake with plums often, but every time I see a plum bake, I want it 🙂 I need to get some plums and try this one 🙂
Thanks Jennifer! I hope you get a chance to make it!
Such a pretty cake and those plums are such a stunning colour! Love to have a lipstick in that shade, lol 😉 Because there’s fruit, I think that a big slice of this would totally be acceptable for breakfast! Happy Monday to ya, Leanne!
I definitely enjoyed a slice or two for breakfast while recipe testing! Thanks Dawn. Hope you find that shade of lipstick! 😉
This is an absolutely gorgeous cake, Leanne! And I bet it tastes even better than it looks. I hope you saved a slice for me–it would pair nicely with my coffee this morning :). Have a great week, my friend!
Thanks Kelsie! Wish I could get a slice to you!
My mom is a huge plum fan Leanne, so she would absolutely love this delicious, beautiful cake. Perfect for dessert or even breakfast! Pinned!
Totally appropriate for breakfast! 😉 Thanks for pinning Mary Ann!