The Best Plum Cake Recipe: A Definitive Guide with the Most Delicious Recipes
Plum cakes are a traditional Christmas dessert. They are a dense, moist cake with a little bit of rum (because of the soaked fruit), which makes you feel as though you’re receiving a big hug from a friend as you eat them on a chilly Christmas evening.
As the festival approaches, we have some plum cake recipes for you to begin preparing right now. It is usually made with soaked dried plums and rum (in most recipes), with a mixture of spices and vanilla.
Its delicious flavour is released when baked, and it makes a wonderful, fragrant treat. Pound cakes and tea cakes are comparable to plum cakes in the sense that they do not have icing or frosting on them. The cake itself is a moist cake that is moistened with butter/oil and liquids, so it tastes delicious when eaten with either tea or coffee. It should be present in your pantry or snack cupboard if you want to enjoy it with either tea or coffee.
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As Christmas draws near, we’ve compiled a variety of plum cake recipes for you, including variants with and without alcohol and egglessness.
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Traditional plum cakes are made with dried fruit (such as plums, raisins, cranberries, and more) that has been steeped for roughly three weeks in high-quality rum. Every other week or so, the rum is topped off, and the cake is rested before being consumed for roughly a week. So, you may start baking whenever you like to have a wonderful cake ready for Christmas. Ingredients For the fruit soak:
- 500 grams mixed dried fruits (prunes/plums, raisins, sultanas, cranberries, blueberries etc.)
- 150 ml good quality rum
- Zest and juice of one orange
- Zest and juice of one lemon
For the cake:
- 180 grams unsalted butter
- 200 grams brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp molasses or treacle (optional)
- 180 grams flour
- 50 grams ground almonds (or almond meal)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- a good pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves)
Method
- Combine your fruits, then place them in an airtight jar. For up to 20 days, add rum, orange, and lemon to the top and stir. If extra rum is needed, you can add it. If you are unable to let the fruit soak for three weeks, give it as much time as you can, at the very least overnight.
- Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius on the day you are baking your cake, and butter a nine-inch baking pan.
- In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (excluding sugar).
- Butter and sugar should be at room temperature, and they should be fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking constantly, until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients gradually, being careful to fold them in gently to preserve some of the fluffiness.
- Add the soaked fruits and alcohol mixture after combining. Fold once more before placing in the baking pan.
- Bake for 60 to 90 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. The top should be brown.
- Cool, slice, and serve alongside hot cocoa or some tea with whipped cream or marmalade (or even eggnog).
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Vegan Plum Cake Recipe
You can still enjoy a traditional plum cake even if you’re vegetarian or allergic to eggs. This vegan, eggless dish will make a tasty treat for your Christmas party! Ingredients For the fruit soak:
- 400 grams chopped dry fruits (plums, almond, raisins, sultanas, walnuts, dried berries, candied orange peels, dates)
- 1 cup good quality rum
For the cake:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon mixed spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup neutral flavoured oil
- 4 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
Method
- Fruits should be refrigerated overnight while they soak in apple juice. The following morning, remove it and allow it to to room temperature before you start baking.
- In a bowl, combine all of your dried ingredients (sugar excepted).
- Sugar and oil should be whisked until frothy. Mix thoroughly after adding lemon juice. Add your dry ingredients gradually and stir to mix.
- Mix thoroughly, add your soaking fruits, and then put to a baking pan that has been lined and buttered.
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Non-alcoholic Plum Cake
You may still enjoy a delectable Christmas cake even if you don’t drink alcohol or if you have children in the house. On the internet, you may find a number of plum cake recipes without the alcohol that can provide the same comfort. This recipe doesn’t call for eggs and uses caramel to increase sweetness. If you don’t want to create the sauce, you can use the basic sugar and oil/butter recipe. The dish can also be used with eggs (on top) and apple juice or apple cider in place of the booze. Ingredients For the fruit soak:
- 300 grams dried fruits (plums, cranberries, raisins, sultanas, candied oranges and mixed berries)
- 1 cup apple juice
For the cake:
- 1/3 cup neutral oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup plus two tablespoons water
- 5 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 cups flour (we recommend a mix of all purpose and whole wheat)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon clove powder
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder (for added flavour)
Method
- Your dried fruit should spend the night in apple juice. Remove it from the fridge the following morning and let it come to room temperature.
- Put your sugar and two tablespoons of water in a pan. Gently heat the sugar until it melts and turns caramelised. To prevent the sugar from crystallising, keep wiping down the pan’s sides.
- After that, add a cup of water and stir until all of the caramel has dissolved. Place aside.
- Set your baking pan aside, butter it, and preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Now combine in a bowl all the dry ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients and caramel together gradually. Fruits are added, combined, and then placed in a baking pan.
- The top should be brown and a skewer should come out clean after baking for roughly 70 minutes.
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