This vegan plum cake is easy. Unbelievably easy. A perfect lazy Sunday cake. Go on. Treat yourself this Sunday. Cream some sugar and vegan margarine, mix in some yoghurt, flour, baking powder. Top with halved and pitted plums and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar and what comes out of the oven? Pure magic. Soft and incredibly moist, with pools of tart plums that have melted into a nearly jam-like consistency, the sugar balancing out the sourness of the plums. This cake is just as good the next day, and the day after that. And to top it off, it freezes well.
You can see why this cake is famous. Yes, this is the most famous plum cake of all time. First printed in the New York Times in 1983, this Marian Burros recipe appeared every plum season thereafter until editors pulled the plug in 1995 and told readers to print it off and laminate it (these were the days before the internet immortalised this and other recipes). It’s been written about on countless websites, such as Food52, The Kitchn and Smitten Kitchen (where I first came across it, and knew I had to make it). The butter was easy to replace – simply sub vegan margarine. As for the eggs, I briefly considered flax seeds, but I thought they’d add too much nutty flavour, or banana, but ditto on the overpowering flavor. So I’ve gone with vegan yoghurt, because the flavor wasn’t overwhelming, and it keeps the cake moist and fluffy. Thanks to the baking powder, you don’t need to worry about the cake rising – it rises just fine without the eggs.
Plum Torte
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 g) plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup (115 g) vegan margarine
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose or plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup (60 g) non-dairy yogurt
- 8-10 small plums, halved and pitted
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 F / 180 C / gas mark 4, and lightly grease an 8-inch round cake tin.
- Cream the margarine and 1 cup of sugar together until combined and fluffy. Add the flour and baking powder and mix to combine.
- Add the yogurt, and mix all ingredients together, then spoon batter into the cake tin. Smooth the top down and add the pitted, halved plums, skin side up.
- Sprinkle lemon juice on the plums to make the surface wet so it will stick, then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar and the cinnamon on top.
- Bake 45 to 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (of batter, not plum juice).
- Cool on a rack.
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24 thoughts on “The Most Famous Plum Torte Ever, Veganized”
Wow this looks absolutely stunning….Well done with the veganized recipe! I need that famous plum cake now!
That looks gorgeous! I love baking with plums.
Consequently mouth watering! That appears amazing.
We made this last night and it was delicious. It was so simple and quick and tasty (and looks great). I didn’t have vegan yogurt but had vegan cream cheese and used that instead in equal amount. I highly recommend!
Thanks so much for letting me know, Suzanne – I love it when people let me know how the recipes turn out and I’m so glad that it worked well with the cream cheese and that it turned out so well! :)
I made it just now and my fiance and I love it!! Fresh plums from the garden too :)
Ooh lucky you – fresh plums from the garden, I’m jealous. Great, I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing, Nancy, it means so much to me when readers tell me how the recipes turned out. :)
I have made this plum torte quite a few times now and it is my go-to recipe. This time I TRIPLED it because it went so fast in our house. Luckily our friend has tons of organic plum trees of many varieties, so I mixed them together. This is the easiest and most delicious baked good I have made to date. Thank you for this recipe!
Thank you so much, your comment made my day! :) I’m so glad you liked it so much!
I made this last night and it tasted fine, but it stuck to the pan (despite greasing it beforehand). Any ideas what went wrong? Perhaps I baked it too long?
Hmm, that’s weird, it hasn’t done that to me before, perhaps it was a case of baking too long. How did the top look, was it browning? Was the pan nonstick? Perhaps try using some parchment paper on the bottom or baking for a bit less time. Let me know how it goes!
Looks amazing!question- If I don’t want to use margarine, what should I sub it for?
I used trex vegetable oil block but used 20% less
It’s in the oven now so I’m not sure if it has worked??
Ah, I hope it did!! How did it turn out in the end? Let me know if you get a chance – I’m curious and a few people have asked about alternatives to margarine!
Thanks! :) I haven’t tried it but I think coconut oil would work and still be tasty. :) Let me know if you try it how it goes!
Not sure if you’re still responding to comments but the cake part became like pudding after baking instead of baking into a fine cake crumb. It tastes great. What did I do wrong?
Hmm…sounds like it didn’t fully bake through. Maybe try baking it a little longer than the recommended 45-50 minutes. These times can vary depending on your oven model (ovens SAY they are at a certain temperature but sometimes they can be off by up to 20 degrees!). After it’s baked through, you should be able to put a toothpick (or fork) into the cake and have the toothpick come out clean. If the toothpick has cake batter stuck to it then the cake needs to be baked for longer. Hope that helps! Let me know if it works.
I have made it substituting the eggs with golden flaxseed and it works really well. Can’t even taste them.
Aren’t flaxseeds such a great egg substitute?! :D
Hi, was just wondering if possible to make this but substitute the flour for ground almonds or almond flour?? :D
Caitlin, this is absolutely delicious! Thank you for this new favorite recipe.
Thank you, Barbara! So glad you liked the recipe. :)
Caitlin, this has always been one of my family’s favorite desserts. Yesterday I made this torte using apricots (left over from jam making) instead of plums. It was as yummy as the plum version and got a big thumbs up from my family. Thank you, as always, for all your great recipes.
Thanks so much, Barbara! I’m so pleased that it’s one of your family’s favourite desserts!! :D So glad it worked well with apricots – sounds absolutely delicious! I’ll have to try it with apricots too next time I make it.