This moist vegan plum cake with almonds is quick and easy to make without eggs, dairy butter and yeast and is as delicious as the original recipe from my German grandma! This no-fuss fruit cake is the perfect dessert for a cozy afternoon coffee or tea party and way healthier than the classic from the bakery!
Easy Vegan Plum Cake
I love plum cake – and especially, grandma’s! Whether it’s made with shortcrust pastry and streusel or yeast dough or coffee cake batter – plum cake always tastes great! It’s just a pity that plum season here in Germany is only in autumn. But did you know that plums from South Africa are now in season? So I picked up some from the supermarket to create this simple recipe!
This plum cake is made with a no-fuss quark-oil batter, also known as curd-oil dough, and almond meal. To keep the cake vegan, I omitted the eggs and used a vegan quark alternative instead of regular quark. Quark is very popular here in Germany and there are also dairy-free alternatives available. It has a creamier and thicker texture than yoghurt, similar to silken tofu or Greek yogurt.
Recipe Variations – Plum sheet cake, loaf or muffins
The great thing about this recipe is that it’s super versatile! You can make a big cake as well as small handy muffins. I baked my plum cake in a round springform pan, but you can also use a rectangular, a square or a loaf pan, or simply bale it on a sheet.
To calculate the amount for your desired baking pan size, you can simply use my cake pan converter. However, also keep in mind to adjust the baking time if you decide to use a different size or shape. Therefore, make sure to keep an eye on your cake and test it with a chopstick every now and then.
Ingredients for this recipe
- Flour: all-purpose, spelt or a gluten-free flour blend.
- Almond meal: or other ground nuts such as hazelnut meal. For a nut-free version, you can use more regular flour.
- Raw cane sugar: or other sugar to taste.
- Baking powder & baking soda: or just one of each.
- Salt: a pinch.
- Ground bourbon vanilla: or vanilla extract.
- Soy quark: or other dairy-free thick yogurt such as “Greek style”. Alternatively, you can also substitute silken tofu.
- Plant milk: e.g. soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk.
- Canola oil: or alba oil or sunflower oil.
- Apple cider vinegar: or white vinegar or 2 tbsp lemon juice.
- Plums: pitted and sliced. Other stone fruits such as apples, pears, apricots, nectarines, mirabelles, cherries are also great alternatives.
- Slivered almonds: optional for the topping.
How to make plum cake – Here’s how easy the recipe is!
As always, I recommend checking out the recipe video and these step-by-step instructions first. Then you can find the full recipe with exact measurements in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Make the batter
First, whisk together the flour, almond meal, raw cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl. Next, whisk together the soy quark, plant milk, canola oil, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar in a measuring cup. Then add to the dry ingredients and mix to a form a thick batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth it out.
Step 2: Top with plums and almonds and bake!
Cut the plums in half, remove the pits, slice them and arrange them on the batter. Sprinkle with slivered almonds and a little sugar and bake in a preheated oven at 356 °F (180 °C) for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool. Then cut into pieces and enjoy with vegan vanilla sauce!
Can I make the cake nut-free?
Yes. For a nut-free plum cake, you can replace the almonds in the batter with 3/4 cup more flour + 1.5 tbsp more oil. Since nuts are rich in fat, adding a little more oil here is recommended so the cake doesn’t get too dry. Instead of slivered almonds, you could also use desiccated coconut or vegan chocolate chips. You could also prepare streusel according to this recipe and crumble them over the plums before baking.
How can I store plum cake?
The cake can be stored in a container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator, it will keep even up to 5 days.
Leftover cake can also be frozen for 3 months. Simply place it in freezer bags (separate individual pieces with parchment paper or wrap them separately in plastic wrap). Then, when you want to eat a piece, you can take it out of the freezer and let it thaw at room temperature (or overnight in the fridge).
If you like, you can briefly heat your piece in the microwave before eating. This makes the plum cake really soft and moist again!
This vegan plum cake recipe is:
- Eggless
- Without butter
- Dairy-free
- Can be made gluten-free
- Quick and easy to make
- Versatile (also works with other fruits)
- Soft and moist
- Fruity
- Nutty
- Healthier than traditional cakes
- Perfect as a dessert with coffee or tea
- So delicious!
More easy vegan cake recipes to try
- Grandmas Apple Cake
- The Best Lemon Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- Simple Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Cranberry Orange Bread
- Raspberry Almond Cake
- Blueberry Bundt Cake
- Blood Orange Bundt Cake
- Apricot Cake with Coconut
- Strawberry Rhubarb Cake
- Chocolate Banana Bread
- Classic Banana Bread
- Zebra Marble Cake
- Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Bread
If you try this moist plum cake, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating on how you liked the recipe! And if you take a picture of it, feel free to tag me on Instagram @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka so I don’t miss your post! Have fun baking! 🙂
Vegan Plum Almond Cake
Author:Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 ½ cup (180 g) all-purpose or spelt flour or gluten-free flour, *see notes
- 1 cup (100 g) almond meal or other nuts ground into meal
- ⅔ cup (120 g) raw cane sugar or other sugar to taste + a little more for sprinkling
- 1 tsp baking powder or ½ tsp more baking soda
- ½ tsp baking soda or 1 tsp more baking powder
- ⅓ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground bourbon vanilla or 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (180 g) soy quark or other thick dairy-free yogurt/quark alternative or sub silken tofu
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) plant milk e.g. soy, oat, or almond milk
- ¼ cup (60 ml) canola oil or alba oil or sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white vinegar or 2 tbsp lemon juice
Topping
- 14 oz (400 g) plums pitted & sliced
- 3 tbsp (30 g) slivered almonds for sprinkling
For Serving (optional)
Instructions
*Note: Check out the recipe video + step-by-step pictures above!
- Preheat the oven to 356 °F (180 °C). Grease a 8- or 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Add the flour, almond meal, raw cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk until there are no lumps.
- In a measuring cup, whisk together the soy yogurt, plant milk, canola oil, vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar. Then pour it into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula to form a pretty thick batter.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth it out.
- Slice the plums, removing the pit, and arrange them on the batter. Sprinkle with slivered almonds and a little sugar and bake in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then carefully remove and let cool completely.
- Cut into pieces and enjoy with vegan vanilla sauce!
Notes
- Flour: Instead of all-purpose or spelt flour, you can use gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour.
- Nut-free: For a nut-free version, you can replace the almonds in the sponge with 3/4 cup more flour + 1.5 tbsp more oil.
- Plums: Other stone fruits like apples, pears, apricots, nectarines, mirabelles, cherries are also great alternatives.
- Toppings: You can also use other chopped nuts, desiccated coconut or chocolate chips as toppings. You could also fold these into the batter before baking.
- Crumbles: You can also make streusel according to this recipe and crumble them over the cake before baking.
- Muffins: You can also bake muffins from this recipe. The baking time is then about 25-30 minutes.
- Sheet cake: You can also use a 11-x 7-inch (27 x 18 cm) or a 9-x 9-inch (22 x 22cm) baking pan or similar size. The baking time is then reduced by 10 minutes. For a larger quantity, e.g. a sheet cake, please use my cake pan conversion calculator.
- Storage: The cake can be stored covered in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or frozen for even longer.
- More information about the recipe is mentioned above in the text!
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Hi, thanks for the fabulous recipe, We as a family are not vegan, but are transitioning to a more plant based diet. Could I use regular Quark in the recipe? I have not ever seen Soy Quark here in the UK. Thanks. Stay safe.
Hi Nina, I haven’t tested this recipe with regular quark but you can definitely give it a try! 😉 Greetings, Bianca