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Plum Cake with Spiced Almond Crumble
In this adaptation of a recipe from the award-winning book “Suqar” by Greg and Lucy Malouf, wedges of sweet-tart fresh plums melt into a rich, buttery cake, the whole thing finished with a nutty brown sugar and spice crumble that complements the plush, tender crumb hiding just beneath. This fruit-forward cake is ideal for a weekend brunch, but special enough to serve as dessert after a summery meal. For prepping the baking pan or dish, we use baking spray, which is a mixture of oil and flour, to help guarantee that slices of the cake are easy to remove for serving. If you don’t have baking spray, butter the pan or dish, dust it with flour, then tap out the excess. Note that if you use a glass or ceramic baking dish rather than a metal pan, the baking times are slightly longer. If you like, dust the cake with powdered sugar just before serving, or spoon on a little whipped cream, gelato or ice cream.
12 to 14
Servings
Tip
Don’t leave the crumble mixture out at room temperature while you make the batter and for the first 25 to 30 minutes that the cake bakes. Freezing the topping and sprinkling it on midway through baking—as the recipe instructs—helps ensure it bakes up with a pleasantly pebbly, nubby texture and that it remains on the surface instead of sinking into the batter. Note that the butter for the crumble should be cool room temperature, but the butter for the cake must be at room temperature so it creams easily and yields a light, aerated batter.
1½ hours
For the Crumble
-
47
grams (½ cup) sliced almonds
Directions
-
01To make the crumble, in a 10-inch skillet over medium, toast the almonds, stirring often, until lightly browned and fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small plate and let cool.
Reviews
September 21, 2025
A KEEPER! by Lari K
I followed this recipe almost exactly except for cutting the whole thing in half and baking it in my 8x8 metal pan. Use 2 eggs for this, but mix up the 2nd one - using half of this egg. This was SO good with the light fluffy cake, jammy plum layer, and crispy crunchy topping. For those worried about the seasonings, my husband and I found them (I use Penzeys) to be complimentary to the fruit along with being slightly different than most baked fruit recipes. One of my substitutions was using almond flour for AP flour in the topping. I cut my cold butter in to the topping ingredients with a pastry cutter until it was all clumpy then just put it all on a plate to sit in the freezer - breaking larger clumps with my fingers beforehand. The topping stuck to the plate, but I used a small metal spatula to loosen it and guide it to the top of the dessert - no problems with it in the end. This was my 1st time baking with plums and my only complaint with my results was MORE jammy plums please. LOL I may experiment with a 2nd layer of thin cut or thicker cut single layer to see how that works. Make this one people!
August 7, 2022
A real summer pleasure!
We just loved the combinations of flavors in this cake. It really takes the fruit/streusal cake up many notches. The spices add a subtle but sophisticated flavor to the topping and the abundant plums are a delicious almost jammy contrast to the light moist cake and crispy topping. Easy to make and I will definitely try with other fruits in their season- figs and hazelnuts maybe??
July 21, 2025
Crumble issues
I substituted pluots for plums, because that is what was ripe at the store. It all has a very good flavor, really like it. However, my crumble did melt a lot and did not look at all like the picture. I froze it and broke it up into small pieces exactly as the recipe said, and put it on halfway thru baking, just like the instructions said, but it still melted into the cake in some spots. I don't know why.
I just made this cake. It came out delicious. I did not have plums but giant black berries. It worked pretty good. However, you do not need to add 1¼ cups of sugar. Its TOO MUCH. I am glad I did not. I put only 1/2 cup and it was plenty as the crumble is very sweet as well. If I have added 1¼ cups, it would be like eating nothing but sugar. You cannot taste your fruits with this much sugar. I also only added 1/4 teaspoons of cardamom and 1/4 tsp of coriander and no all spice. I am not a fan of All spice in baking. Overall, I would say its a great cake and its easy to make as well (can work with different fruits and berries).
I'd like to make this, but I admit to being a little leery about adding coriander to a dessert recipe. Was it a noticeable flavor or did it just blend in?
This is my new favorite Milk Street cake. It is just perfection. The cake itself is light and slightly tangy. The plums stay juicy and keep the cake moist, which is an excellent counterpart to the crisp, nutty crumble topping. It worked super well with frozen cranberries as well. I used all the spices listed and in the amount written. I thought it was just right. Coriander is such an underrated spice in baking, and I love that Milk Street loves to use it in desserts!
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Absolutely delicious, so worth the effort. The spices bring another dimension to the flavor profile. Rates an “11” of out “10”.