My Go-To Quick Dessert: Yogurt Plum Cake

This yogurt plum cake is so easy to whip up you can even wow last-minute dinner guests with a warm cake right out of the oven. Take advantage of summer/fall plum season or elevate off-season plums with this simple, satisfying single layer cake. Find more olive oil cake recipes here.

When my kids were younger, summer meant dirty bare feet running in and out of the house. We usually had one of those inflatable baby pools in the backyard filled with random plastic toys and laughing kids. Popsicle stained faces and untamed mops of hair, this was our dress code for the summer.

Now that my kids are teenagers, summers have evolved a bit. My kids now wash the popsicle mess off their faces (for the most part), but their hair is still an unbrushed mess! They may not fit in those little kiddy pools, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying.

I love summer, from the laid back schedule to the casual way we go about our life. I especially love all the wonderful fruits and vegetables we eat nonstop all summer long. And one of those favorite fruits are plums. And one of my favorite treats are plum desserts!

Best plums for plum cake

Today I am sharing with you one of my favorite go-to cakes, this fabulously moist and easy plum cake. A simple vanilla cake with fresh slices of plums baked on top of it. For this particular cake I used fat red plums, but I have also made this plum cake with black plums, Italian plums and any other plums that I can find.

This cake is so versatile, that I have even used other fruits in this cake: peaches, strawberries, blueberries, oranges… almost any fresh fruit combinations I can think of. Simply remove the pit from the stone fruits, you can keep the skin on or off, and slice the fruit into any shape you like.

Why bake with yogurt

If you haven’t noticed, this plum cake is baked with yogurt. If you are unfamiliar with baking with yogurt, let me explain why I love it. Maybe you are familiar with baking with buttermilk, like buttermilk pancakes, buttermilk biscuits and buttermilk cake? Yogurt, like buttermilk, is acidic – especially Greek yogurt.

The acid in both buttermilk and yogurt helps the leavening and create a light and fluffy dessert. I love baking with yogurt so much that I stopped using buttermilk completely. If you have a recipe using buttermilk, I have an easy substitution so you can swap it out with Greek yogurt.

For every 1 cup of buttermilk, substitute with ¾ cup Greek yogurt and ¼ cup milk.

If you don’t have yogurt on hand, you can also use sour cream or crème fraîche. Want to try more recipes where I bake with yogurt? Try my Red Currant and Rosemary Olive Oil Scones, Pomegranate Pancakes, Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread and my Orange Upside Down Cake.

Want to make your own yogurt? I’ve got a fabulous post and video to teach you how to make yogurt here.

Easy yogurt plum cake

This yogurt plum cake is such an easy summer dessert to whip up. You don’t need to have to haul out the mixer. It’s one of those one bowl cake recipes that you only need a whisk to make. You could use a hand mixer, but you really don’t need it. 

I loved the pairing of tart plums with my lightly sweetened cake. Sweet and sour, like the end of summer. This is my go-to dessert to whip up when I need to bake up something quick for unexpected guests or a last minute invite. It is SUPER easy to make, and you easily use any number of fresh fruit toppings.

Happy Summer everyone!

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Yield: serves 8

Plum Yogurt Cake

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This yogurt plum cake is so easy to whip up you can even wow last-minute dinner guests with a warm cake right out of the oven.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Additional Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ⅛ tsp salt
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup yogurt, plain
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 eggs, large
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 plums, sliced

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Apply non-stick spray to one 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment or waxed paper.
3. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, yogurt, olive oil, eggs and vanilla extract until combined.
5. In batches, mix flour mixture into yogurt mixture and stir until combined.
6. Pour mixture into prepared cake pan.
7. Arrange plum slices over the top of the cake.
8. Place the cake in the oven and cook for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Place the cake on a cooling rack and let it cool for 20 minutes prior to serving.

Notes

Serving Suggestions: Serve alone, with vanilla ice cream or top with sweetened whipped cream.

Cooking Tips: Substitute plums with blueberries, raspberries, peaches or pears.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 327Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 71mgSodium: 199mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 1gSugar: 22gProtein: 6g