Our little plum tree was laden with fruits this autumn after a break last year in which we had very few. There’s always a burst of excitement when the weeks seem to go by so fast and all of a sudden you look down by the old barn and see a full tree speckled with bright and deep purple plums. They seem to ripen overnight and a tree that was once bare has branches weighed down with what looks like a never-ending supply of luscious plums.

To make the most of our autumn bounty, we gathered handfuls of plums to eat and filled bowls of plums to pickle. Some went into savory dishes and others into making jam.

Before the massive gusts of wind arrived from a storm that swept across Norway and sent our plums all over the place, I managed to collect a few more to bake into a simple cake. One that features the tartness of these particular plums blanketed in a fluffy cake made with sour cream.

This cake is so moist and delicate, and offers a good balance of tartness from the plums and sweetness from the cake. It’s delicious served warm and a serving of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top would be a welcome addition.

Plum & Sour Cream Cake (plommekake)

Makes 1 Cake

• 12 ounces (350 g) plums, cored and halved
• ½ cup (112 g) butter, softened
• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (175 g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup (120 ml) sour cream
• 1 ½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Sliced almonds, for topping
• ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, for topping

---

Preheat the oven to 350° F / 180° C.

Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of a 9-inch springform cake pan and grease the top of it and the sides of the pan. Lay the plums on the bottom, cut side up. *if you are using tart plums, you may wish to sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top. Our plums are on the tart side and I quite enjoy the balance between the sweet cake and tart plums in every bite. Completely up to your taste preference.

Beat the butter and sugar in a kitchen stand until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat in the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add this to the mixture and combine to form a smooth batter.

Spread the batter over the plums carefully and evenly. Scatter the top with the sliced almonds and granulated sugar.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through and golden on the top. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.