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Croatian Plum (or Sour Cherry) Cake

Mimi
A light, airy one-layer cake with fresh plum or cherry and walnut.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Croatian
Servings 9 people

Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup butter (softened)

For the Cake

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp lemon rind
  • 1 tbsp orange rind
  • 1.5 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup walnuts finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 cups sliced plums (can replace with sour cherries)
  • 1 tbsp Croatian Sljivovica (plum brandy) -can replace with rum or brandy-

Instructions
 

For the cake

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a square baking pan (9 x 9 or thereabouts). 
  • Slice the plums (I used red this time, but dark plums work great too) and set aside in a bowl. I drizzled a little Croatian Sljivovica (our plum brandy) over the fruit for flavor, and you can also do so with brandy or rum.
  • Mix the flour, baking powder, lemon rind, orange rind, salt, and walnuts together. Set aside.
  • Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
  • Add in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Slowly add in the flour mixture until incorporated. 
  • Spoon half of the batter into the pan and smooth out. Add half of the sliced plums (or cherries) evenly. Spoon the rest of the batter over the top and flatten out, using an offset spatula. Place the other half of the sliced fruit on top (I arranged into a fan with 3 slices in each corner; you can get creative in any way you like.)
  • Bake for 50-55 minutes, making sure that the toothpick test comes out clean in the center of the cake.
  • Allow to cool in the pan, and move to a wire rack after 20 minutes to cool completely. 
  • Serve with powdered sugar, ice cream, creme fraiche, whipped cream, or nothing at all. Makes for a great coffee break cake or a fine breakfast with fruit included!

Notes

  • If you like, you can brush the plums on top of the cake with some apricot/plum/fruit jam tempered with warm water for an extra shine.
  • Since the batter is very thick, spreading it in the pan, especially over the first layer of fruit, can prove tricky. If you use an offset spatula, you can dip it into warm water, which will help the batter flatten and move easily.
  • You can also prepare this cake in a bundt pan, a loaf pan, or a round tin, just make sure to adjust your baking times according to size.
Keyword cake