Name: Romanian Plum Cake Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Ingredients: 300 gr plums; 3 eggs; 125 gr sugar; 120 gr flour; 200 gr sour cream (with a high ); 100 ml vegetable oil; 10 gr baking powder; 1 tbsp vanilla essence; zest from half a lemon; pinch of salt

When I visited my grandma last year, before her 88th birthday, she waited for me with a delicious plum cake, which she had made that morning. It was so light, with a fluffy texture and a delightful zing from the fruits. So I asked her for the plum cake recipe and this year, I finally made it myself.

The Romanian plum cake is one of the most traditional desserts in the country. I can guarantee that everyone makes it at least once during autumn. Growing up, it never missed from our household, and this is because it’s so easy to make – literally mix all the ingredients and put it in the oven.

This year I won’t make it home for my grandma’s birthday, so, as a happy birthday, I decided to make and share the recipe of her plum cake with you. I was in France last week and bought some beautiful plums, which I bought at the farmers market, which were just perfect for this recipe.

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The Ingredients for the Romanian Plum Cake Recipe

The ingredients for this cake, on a marble worktop. There is a pink bowl filled with purple plums, a yellow pack of sour cream, a bottle of vegetable oil, a yellow pack of flour, a carton of eggs, a blue pack of baking powder, a blue pack of sugar, a small bottle of vanilla essence, a lemon

For this recipe, you’ll need 300 grams of plums, slightly firm to touch to ensure they hold their shape during baking. The batter requires eggs, sugar, oil, and sour cream that will give the plum cake that light and fluffy texture. You’ll also need flour and baking powder, to bind it all together. For flavouring the sponge you will need vanilla essence and lemon zest.

How to Make Romanian Plum Cake

The batter inside an orange bowl, with a tablespoon on flour over it.

This is almost one of those recipes of dumping all the ingredients together and baking, except that on this occasion you have to do it step by step. The entire process takes no more than 5 minutes. Start by cutting the plums in quarters, making sure you choose the ones that are ripe the least. Then, preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

The first step in making the batter for this cake is mixing the eggs with the sugar until creamy. I used an electric whisk for this. You can also use a normal whisk, but it will take a little bit longer. Then, I added the oil little by little, mixing continuously. Next, I did the same with the sour cream – which is essential for the moisture of the cake. The more fat the sour cream has, the better. You can also use a thick yogurt, if you want a healthier version. But it’s a cake – who wants healthy in a cake?

The batter in a baking tray lined with baking paper. Half of it is covered with plums, On the side there is a red chopping board with plums cut in quarters.

Next, add the flavourings: vanilla essence, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt. The final step is to incorporate the flour, tablespoon by tablespoon. Mix the baking powder with the last tablespoon as well.

The batter should have the consistency of a cream, but don’t worry, the magic will happen inside the oven. Tip the batter inside a baking tray lined with baking paper, then start adding the plums on top, one next to each other.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown. The time depends from oven to oven, so make sure to check after the 30-minute mark. To make sure that the cake is cooked on the inside, insert a toothpick in the middle – if it comes out clean, it is done.

When the cake is ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely before cutting it into squares and serving it with powdered sugar dusted on top.

Notes and Tips:

The baked cake, just out of the oven, with a golden crust on top.

Try to buy plums that are hard, and not yet fully ripe. They will hold their texture much better when baked, and they will balance the flavour fantastically because they are not yet very sweet and still have a bit of sourness in them.
The higher the fat content in the sour cream, the richer and more moist your cake will be. Alternatively, you can use thick yogurt for a lighter version, but for the most authentic taste, stick with sour cream.