Jammy Plum Cornmeal Cake

If you’ve got your hands on some plums this season, this cake is honestly one of my favorite things ever. I love a fruit-studded cake, and this one has a ripple of plum butter running through the middle of the cake that makes things truly addictive.

Earlier this week I shared a recipe for Homemade Plum Butter and I’m using it in this cake to really amp up the plum flavor and make things really jammy and delicious. The cornmeal cake base gives the perfect texture and a little pop of something savory peeking through the rest of the tart, sweet cake. Let’s get to it!

How to Make Jammy Plum Cornmeal Cake

Let’s start with the cornmeal cake here. This recipe uses a pretty simple method and we’re using some ingredients that will really contribute to a soft, fluffy cornmeal cake base here like buttermilk and some vegetable oil. We’re starting off by mixing together the dry ingredients in a bowl- some flour, yellow cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Then it’s time to beat together the softened butter, vegetable oil, sugar, and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. The powdered sugar adds a little extra softness to the texture of the finished cake. Then add in the egg and vanilla extract or paste and mix until combined.

From here it’s time to add in the dry ingredients and the buttermilk in alternating additions. You want to start and finish with the dry mixture and mix well between each addition. Once everything has been added, you should have a thick, fluffy cake batter to work with.

Spread about half of the batter into the bottom of your prepared cake pan, spreading evenly to create a fairly flat layer. Then dollop on the plum butter before spreading that into an even layer as well. I’m using a small offset spatula for spreading the layers out, and dolloping the layers helps to ensure you don’t have to pull the batter everywhere. Dollop the rest of the batter on top of the butter and again, spread evenly.

From there we’re pressing in some sliced plums on top. I like to slice my plums fairly thick, about 1/2 inch wedges, and press them gently into the cake batter. Finally, generously sprinkle coarse sugar all over the top of the cake. I’m using some vanilla sugar here which is lovely, but any raw sugar is great!

Then it’s off to the oven to bake until everything is cooked through and the top is lightly golden brown all over. The bake time is a fairly large range for this cake and that’s because it can really depend on how juicy your plums are on top of the cake. For me this cake took about 45 minutes to bake the first time I made it, and about 55 the second time I made it with a different batch of plums.

I like to serve this cake with a dusting of powdered sugar over the top, or another lovely choice would be with some whipped cream. Whatever you choose, I know you’ll love this cake!

Tips & Tricks for Jammy Plum Cornmeal Cake

Here are my tips and tricks to help you along the way to making this plum cornmeal cake!

• Do I have to make the plum butter from scratch? You can absolutely buy plum butter if you can find it, or you can swap in another fruit butter or jam.
• Do I have to use plums? You can swap in your favorite stone fruit here pretty easily, and you can do the same with the plum butter recipe!
• What if I don’t have buttermilk? You can swap in whole milk with about 1 tsp. of white vinegar added as a substitute for buttermilk in this recipe.
• Dollop the layers around the pan for easier spreading. This helps keep the layers properly separated- dollop the plum butter around the pan so you don’t have to spread it so far to create an even layer. Repeat this process with the remaining cake batter.
• How do I know when the cake is finished baking? The cake should look set, lightly golden brown on top, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out with just a couple of crumbs clinging to it.
• Do I have to use the raw sugar on top? You can swap in any coarse sugar you prefer, or you can even use a sprinkle of regular granulated sugar here. It gives the cake a little crisp topping that I love!
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level and I find that most people who live between about 3,000-7,000 ft. above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.

Enjoy!

Print

Jammy Plum Cornmeal Cake

Servings 8 slices

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbs. powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup plum butter
• 2-3 fresh plums sliced
• 2 tbs. coarse sugar
• 2 tbs. powdered sugar optional

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch cake pan. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, powdered sugar, softened butter, and oil until well combined. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add about 1/3 of the mixture into the batter, and beat until just combined.
3. Then add in about half of the buttermilk, again mixing until just combined. Repeat this process until all of the buttermilk and dry ingredients have been added. You should have a fairly thick, smooth batter.
4. Spread about half of the batter evenly into your prepared cake pan. Then, dollop your plum butter and spread it evenly over the top of the cake batter- it’s ok if this doesn’t look perfect. Dollop on the remaining cake batter and spread it evenly to cover the plum butter layer.
5. Lay an even layer of your sliced plums over the top of the cake batter. Sprinkle the coarse sugar generously over the top of the plums.

6. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it. The bake time will vary based on how juice your plums are. While the cake is still hot, carefully run a knife around the edges to loosen any cooked bits of plum butter. Cool the cake completely before removing to slice and serve. Optionally dust the cake with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Nicole Hampton

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!