Plum Poppy Seed Cake

Total Time Prep: 20 min. Bake: 40 min.
Yield 15 servings
Test Kitchen Approved
Don’t let the simplicity of this recipe fool you. This craveable plum poppy seed cake impresses with understated elegance.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup canola oil or grapeseed oil
  • 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 5 small plums (about 1 pound), sliced
  • Confectioners' sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat sugar, eggs and oil until lemon-colored and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in orange zest and vanilla.
  2. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; fold into egg mixture. Stir in poppy seeds. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking pan, spreading evenly. Arrange plum slices over batter (do not press into batter).
  3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and additional cinnamon before serving.

Nutrition Facts

1 piece: 284 calories, 17g fat (2g saturated fat), 50mg cholesterol, 163mg sodium, 30g carbohydrate (16g sugars, 1g fiber), 4g protein.

This recipe uses plums and poppy seeds for the most traditional Polish version of this dessert, but you can also use nectarines or even apricots. One tip: Do not push the plums into the batter. Just let them sit on top. They will sink in a bit as they bake. —Lisa Kaminski, Wauwatosa, WI
Recipe Creator

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