As soon as Damson plums are in season they have to be used in a bake. It’s impossible to pass by the fruits at a supermarket and not buy a basket full of little purple plums. ;) The first Damson plum cake of the year is usually a simple sheet cake with streusels on top, but sometimes this cake here replaces the classic: a terrific Six Spices Damson Plum Pound Cake. Thanks to the spice mix, this cake is really delicious!
Just so you know… this cake here was actually supposed to get a different shape. It should have been a bundt cake, but unfortunately, the attempt with a bundt cake pan did not work at all. Sometimes the baking gods are not happy with what you are doing, right? ;P
Trying to bake a bundt cake with this recipe was simply disastrous. The plums stuck to the mold, and you can imagine what that means… instead of one whole cake I ended up with several small cakes. Let’s say it like that. You could also say it looked like a cake explosion ;P
Anyway. Using a good old loaf pan with some baking paper worked perfectly. I guess you can see that ;P Even if you got some Damson plums sticking to the sides – the baking parchment will prevent them from destroying the entire cake when you pull it out of the pan. The cake might have looked better as a bundt cake but well… it was not supposed to happen ;)
The cake and plums are refined here with a potpourri of spices. You could also use a classic 5-Spice Mix* instead of the spices in the recipe – the idea to give this cake nice flavors is actually coming from that spice mix. Sounds a bit strange to use a spice blend that is normally used for savory dishes… but it works! ;) Not everyone has this spice blend at home – that’s why I listed the corresponding spices separately. Well, and because the 5-spice mixes do not always use the same five spices… that’s why I used six spices. That makes sense, right? ;P
So if you have a ready-made spice mix at hand, you can use that. Everyone else will have to make their own blend. As long as you add a good amount of cinnamon, everything is fine. A plum cake is not perfect without cinnamon, right?
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
- English
- Deutsch
For the plum filling:
9 oz. (250g) Damson plums (or regular plums)
some black (Szechuan) peppercorns
some fennel seeds
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch of ground allspice
1 pinch of ground cloves
1 pinch of ground star anise
3 tbsp. raw cane sugar
For the streusel:
2/3 cup (90g) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. regular sugar
1/3 cup (80g) butter, at room temperature
For the batter:
3/4 cup (175g) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100g) regular sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 medium eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (200g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Für die Zwetschgenfüllung:
250g Zwetschgen (oder Pflaumen)
einige schwarze (Szechuan) Pfefferkörner
einige Fenchelsamen
1/4 TL Zimt, gemahlen
1 Prise Piment, gemahlen
1 Prise Nelken, gemahlen
1 Prise Sternanis, gemahlen
3 EL Vollrohrzucker
Für die Streusel:
90g Mehl (Type 550)
3 EL Zucker
80g weiche Butter
Für den Teig:
175g weiche Butter
100g Zucker
1 TL Vanille Extrakt
3 Eier (M), Zimmertemperatur
200g Mehl (Type 550)
1 TL Backpulver
1/4 TL Salz
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
- English
- Deutsch
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease a loaf pan (about 23x13cm) and line with a piece of baking paper.
2. Remove the stones from the plums and cut them into small pieces. Add the peppercorns, fennel seeds, and the other spices to a mortar and grind until you get some fine powder. Mix it with the cane sugar and sprinkle it over the plums. Mix well and set aside until needed.
3. For the streusels mix the flour and regular sugar in a bowl. Add the butter and rub everything between your fingers until you get different-sized streusels. Place in the fridge until needed.
4. For the batter mix butter, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt and add to the bowl – mix until just combined.
5. Add half of the batter to the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Add the half of the plums on top and then cover these plums with the remaining batter. Distribute the remaining plums evenly on top and finish with the streusels. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 60-70 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool down inside the pan for some time, then remove and let cool down completely on a wire rack.
1. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Eine Kastenform (ca. 23x13cm) leicht einfetten und mit einem Stück Backpapier auslegen.
2. Zwetschgen (oder Pflaumen) entsteinen und in kleine Stücke schneiden. Pfefferkörner, Fenchelsamen und Gewürze in einen Mörser geben und zu einem feinen Pulver zerreiben. Mit dem Zucker vermischen und dann über die Zwetschgen streuen und gut vermengen. Bis zur weiteren Verwendung zur Seite stellen.
3. Mehl und Zucker für die Streusel in einer Schüssel vermischen. Butter dazugeben und alles mit den Fingern zu Streuseln verarbeiten. Bis zur weiteren Verwendung in den Kühlschrank stellen.
4. Butter, Zucker und Vanille Extrakt für den Teig in einer großen Schüssel hell und luftig aufschlagen. Die Eier einzeln dazugeben und jeweils gut unterrühren. Mehl mit Backpulver und Salz vermischen und zur Schüssel dazugeben – nur kurz unterrühren.
5. Die Hälfte des Teiges in der vorbereiteten Form verteilen, die Hälfte der Pflaumen darauf verteilen, dann mit dem restlichen Teig abdecken. Die verbliebenen Zwetschgen wieder auf dem Teig verteilen und dann die Streusel darüber geben. Den Kuchen für etwa 60-70 Minuten backen. Mit einem Holzspieß testen, ob noch Teig kleben bleibt und den Kuchen erst herausholen, wenn dieser sauber herauskommt. Kuchen aus dem Ofen nehmen und in der Form kurz abkühlen lassen, dann herausnehmen und auf einem Kuchengitter komplett auskühlen lassen.
The original recipe is from 2015 and got an update in 2023 – the pictures looked a bit different back then ;)
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
6 Spices Damson Plum Pound Cake
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- Author: Bake to the roots
- Prep Time: 00:30
- Cook Time: 01:10
- Total Time: 01:40
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Easy and delicious pound cake with a Damson plum filling, perfectly spiced with a bunch of spices. You will love this combination!
Ingredients
Scale
For the plum filling:
9 oz. (250g) Damson plums (or regular plums)
some black (Szechuan) peppercorns
some fennel seeds
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch of ground allspice
1 pinch of ground cloves
1 pinch of ground star anise
3 tbsp. raw cane sugar
For the streusel:
2/3 cup (90g) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. regular sugar
1/3 cup (80g) butter, at room temperature
For the batter:
3/4 cup (175g) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100g) regular sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 medium eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (200g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease a loaf pan (about 23x13cm) and line with a piece of baking paper.
2. Remove the stones from the plums and cut them into small pieces. Add the peppercorns, fennel seeds, and the other spices to a mortar and grind until you get some fine powder. Mix it with the cane sugar and sprinkle it over the plums. Mix well and set aside until needed.
3. For the streusels mix the flour and regular sugar in a bowl. Add the butter and rub everything between your fingers until you get different-sized streusels. Place in the fridge until needed.
4. For the batter mix butter, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt and add to the bowl – mix until just combined.
5. Add half of the batter to the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Add the half of the plums on top and then cover these plums with the remaining batter. Distribute the remaining plums evenly on top and finish with the streusels. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 60-70 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool down inside the pan for some time, then remove and let cool down completely on a wire rack.
Notes
Enjoy baking!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 12
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Tags:cake damson loaf plum streusel
