The inspiration for this plum cake came from a visit to Galiano island a couple of weekends ago for a wedding.
I’ve lived here for 10 years now and British Columbia never ceases to amaze me with its jewel-toned beauty, at once wild and serene. If you’ve never been here, you must come visit. Galiano is the gulf island closest to Vancouver.
There were seals frolicking against a backdrop of misty islands rising from the turquoise sea a hundred metres from our front door, and lovely pear and plum trees dripping with fruit right outside our window.
There was even a pod of orcas visiting, although we didn’t have time to get out on the water. It’s a magical place.
Theo was snacking on sun-warmed, ripe fruit he plucked straight from the branches. Â He relished the juicy plums with such enthusiasm (and adorable mess!) that when we got home, I bought a ton more at the farmers market. Â And made cake!
I love the heady, floral aroma of cardamom – I use green pods, remove the seeds and smash/chop them with a chef’s knife to get the freshest flavour (there’s no comparison to the dusty pre-ground stuff you can buy).
But if you’re not a big cardamom fan, just leave it out – the cake will still be delicious.
I used Italian prune plums, and simply quartered them. Â I think they look beautiful scattered throughout and on top of the cake, and I appreciate the tart, juicy bite to counter rich sweetness of the cake.
Don’t you find rustic desserts the most lovely? I just dusted it with confectioners sugar and served it like that. Â But a scoop of vanilla ice cream never made a cake taste worse.
Cardamom-Plum Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 10 cardamom pods seeds removed and finely crushed with a knife or mortar and pestle
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 ¼ cups sour cream
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 12 oz ripe plums cut in 1/2" slices (yields 2 cups sliced)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 9x2" round cake pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, crushed cardamom, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together melted butter, sour cream, milk, egg and vanilla extract. Â Scrape this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until barely combined, with some floury patches remaining. Â Fold in 3/4 of the plums (by this time the floury patches will be incorporated - it's just important not to over-mix).
- Transfer the batter to prepared cake pan, and scatter remaining plums on top. Â Bake for 35-45 minutes, until top feels springy when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Â Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then run a knife around the outside and invert onto a plate or clean oven mitt. Carefully then flip it right-side-up directly onto the cooling rack to finish cooling completely before transferring to a cake stand or serving plate.
