Moist Gluten-Free Plum and Almond Cake

If you have a plum tree then you'll love using the fresh fruit for this gorgeously simple Gluten-Free Plum Cake. It doesn’t even need the ripest of plums, which you can save for eating straight from the tree. This is actually a great recipe for using up firmer plums as they don’t contribute too much extra juice into the batter and the slightly sour taste of them is an incredible contrast to the sweet rich sponge encasing them.

The fresh plums are halved and popped on top of a brown butter and sour cream enriched batter and then sprinkled with flaked almonds and a dazzle of runny honey. During the bake the firm fruit will soften and sink into little pockets of jam within the cake but not so much that they compromise the structure. It’s still easy to slice and even easier to eat. 

Why You’ll Love This Gluten-Free Plum Cake

Easy recipe. Browning the butter is as technical as this recipe gets (and that's just melting the butter a bit longer than usual). There's no fancy adornment needed, just a light dusting of icing sugar for this rustic home bake.

Deep and rich flavour. The flavour of this fresh fruit cake has a toasted buttery flavour which compliments the tang of the sour cream. It provides a lovely contrast of tastes with the light fresh plums.

Gorgeous moist texture thanks to the sour cream, melted butter, brown sugar and almond flour.

Brown butter. Instead of just using melted butter this recipe calls for the technique of browning the butter, which the French call beurre noisette, literally meaning hazelnut butter and the flavour it gives is incredible. It is just butter though, taken slightly past the melting point so that the flavour intensifies into a lovely toasty nuttiness.

Simple gluten-free flours. You just need to use your favourite shop bought blend, almond flour and no xanthan gum required. No fancy equipment needed. I forgo both stand mixer and electric hand held mixer here - just mixing bowls, saucepan for the butter and a whisk.

Ingredients Needed

Fresh plums. Use whatever type of plum is in season either from your back garden or at the farmers market. It's the main ingredient so you want them to be fresh and local for the tastiest fruit.

Almond flour. You are looking for blanched ground almonds. There is a bit of labelling confusion over almond flour which is sold as ‘ground almonds’ in most major UK supermarkets and found in the baking aisle. If you want to know what exactly you are looking for then check out this post >>> Is Almond Flour The Same As Ground Almonds. 

All-purpose gluten-free flour. You can use any. I recommend Doves Freee Plain White Gluten-Free Flour. You don't need a brand which contains xanthan gum, but if it's included then don't worry about that either. I also particularly recommend my Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Mix which gives great results.

Unsalted butter. We need unsalted so we can control the salt content of the recipe. Make sure it is at room temperature.

Light soft brown sugar. Using brown sugar adds a gentle molasses flavour and moisture to the batter, enhancing the depth of taste and providing a subtle caramel undertone, contributing to a more flavourful and moist cake.

Caster sugar. It’s a fine white baking sugar available in the UK. Regular white granulated sugar can be substituted.

Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell). These are often classified as large eggs in the US. I recommend weighing your eggs to ensure the correct amount.

Sour cream. Using sour cream is excellent in gluten-free cakes as it helps the texture and flavour of the cake. It adds moisture and a subtle tang and leads to a soft rich tender crumb. Its acidity also helps activate the bicarbonate of soda so the cake rises better with more lightness.

Vanilla extract. Use a good quality extract, I like Nielsen Massey.

Baking powder. A leavening agent which causes the cake to rise and become light and fluffy. Do check your baking powder is gluten-free before use.

Bicarbonate of soda. Also known as baking soda, this is a white crystalline powder that is commonly used as a leavening agent in baking.

Salt. I like to use kosher salt in my baking as it has a round gentle flavour. Using salt in your baked goods lifts and sharpens all the other flavours.

Honey. This honey is used purely for flavour rather than sweetness so use a good quality and flavourful local honey.

Flaked almonds (sliced almonds). These are used for scattering over the top of the cake and give it a lovely toasted crunch.

Icing sugar. (powdered sugar). Icing sugar is used to dust the cake after cooling.

How To Make Gluten-Free Plum Cake

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Prepare the Plums

Wash the plums then halve them lengthways around the stone. If the stone doesn't come out easily you can pluck out with a paring knife.

Preheat the Oven and Prepare the Tin

Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan assisted) / gas mark 4 / 350°F. While the oven heats up, line and grease an 8-inch (20cm) square baking tin to ensure your cake doesn't stick.

Prepare the Brown Butter

To make the brown butter, place the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. As the butter melts, you'll hear it hissing and cracking. Watch closely as little brown bits begin to form at the bottom of the pan. When the noises start to subside, the butter turns a more golden brown, and a toasty aroma fills the air, remove the pan from heat immediately to avoid burning.

Mix the Dry Ingredients

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, gluten-free flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt until everything is fully combined. This ensures an even distribution of the leavening agents and salt.

Mix the Wet Ingredients

In a separate large bowl, mix together the sugars, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract. Once these are well combined, stir in the cooled brown butter, blending everything into a smooth mixture.

Combine and Assemble

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture, stirring just until everything is incorporated. Transfer the batter into your prepared cake tin. Arrange the plum halves on top, cut side up, then drizzle with honey and scatter flaked almonds evenly over the surface.

Bake the Cake

Place the cake in the preheated oven and bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the top is beautifully golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and allow to cool. You can dust with icing sugar before serving if you like.