This Zoe Francois plum cake is absolutely wonderful. In the introduction to the recipe, she writes that this plum cake is her favorite cake in her cookbook, Zoe Bakes Cakes. (There are some outstanding cakes in that cookbook, by the way! So, that’s high praise for this cake.)
Don’t get me wrong. Marion Burros’ famous plum cake is still the GOAT. (You can find that recipe here.)
Burros’ legendary cake was featured here back in 2015. Burros, a food columnist for the NY Times, originally published her recipe in the food section of that paper in 1982. The recipe was so well-received by Times readers that its publication became a food section tradition every plum season for many years. People still talk about Burros’ plum cake in reverential terms.
Here is a photo of the beautiful Burros cake we baked back in 2015 (and many many times since). 
Francois’ recipe, however, rivals the Burros’ cake in my opinion. The crumb of her cake is tender and oh-so-flavorful with its mixture of all-purpose white flour, wheat flour and almond flour. Burros’ plum cake doesn’t incorporate a mixture of flours and I think those inclusions distinguish Francois’ cake from Burros’. Don’t get me wrong. One cake is not better than the other; they are just wonderfully different.
There is, of course, that old saying about not messing with perfection (the Burros’ plum cake, in this case). So, what I suggest is that you stay open to the fact that there can be two really really wonderful plum cakes. Heck, why not do a baking test to check this out. Make both cakes! Invite your friends and family. Do a taste-off. It will be a win-win and both cakes will disappear as you and your guests taste-compare over and over and over…just to be sure, of course.
You can find this recipe in Francois’ cookbook Zoe Bakes Cakes. You can find the book through your local bookstore or at Amazon here.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Plum Cake
Ingredients
- For The Cake
- 10 T. unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 C. granulated sugar
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- 1/2 C. whole milk (room temperature)
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1 C. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 C. almond flour
- 1/4 C. whole wheat flour
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1/4 t. kosher salt
- 4-6 plums quartered
- Topping
- 2 T. granulated sugar
- 1/4 t. ground cinnamon
- 2 T. unsalted butter (cold, in cubes)
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Step 2 Prepare a 9-in springform pan by spraying it with cooking spray AND lining it with parchment paper which you also spray with cooking spray.
- Step 3 Put butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract in the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix to combine and until the mixture is smooth.
- Step 4 Add all-purpose, almond and whole wheat flour to the butter mixture. Mix a few times until the batter is just mixed and there is no evidence of dry patches in the batter.
- Step 5 Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan, smoothing the top with an off-set spatula. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to be sure there are no air bubbles in the batter.
- Step 6 Arrange the plum slices on top of the cake in a spiral pattern.
- Step 7 Bake cake for 45 minutes in a 375 degree F. oven.
- Step 8 To make the topping for the cake stir sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.
- Step 9 Once the cake has baked for 45 minutes, remove it from the oven and sprinkle the sugar-cinnamon mixture over the cake. Scatter the butter cubes across the top of the cake. Bake for another 20 minutes. Your cake is done when a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Step 10 Remove cake from oven and let it cool on your counter. Remove the sides of the springform pan, place the cake on a serving dish and serve. This cake is great alone with a cup of tea. It can also be served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
