This high altitude plum crumb cake features a sour cream coffee cake that’s full of juicy plums with a hint of ground ginger, and sprinkled with buttery crumb topping. It’s moist, tender and fluffy, and delicious served warm from the oven for breakfast or dessert.
You might also love these high altitude tested recipes for mini plum pies, strawberry spoon cake, and blueberry buckle coffee cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
No Waiting for Cake to Cool. One of the best things about this plum crumb cake or plum streusel coffee cake is that you can enjoy it while it’s warm from the oven.
Quick and Easy to Make. Both the cake and the crumble topping use standard pantry ingredients and an easy mixing method, so you won’t even need a mixer or any special equipment.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Flour. You’ll be using all purpose flour for the crumb topping, but for the cake, I like to use cake flour. Cake flour has a lower percentage of protein, which makes the cake more soft, fluffy and tender.
- Sugar. Both granulated sugar and light brown sugar will add sweetness and moisture to the cake and the crumble.
- Spices. Vanilla extract, ground ginger and salt add flavor to complement the tart plums.
- Sour Cream + Butter + Oil. All of these ingredients add moisture, while the butter adds additional flavor and the sour cream contributes some acidity for a tender texture.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent, so the cake rises as it bakes.
- Eggs. Add moisture and strength.
- Plums. You can use any type of plums, and each will vary a bit in terms of flavor and how tart or sweet they are. I used black plums, which are red inside, but you can also use red plums, which are yellow inside.
Instructions
Crumb Topping
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly brush a 9×9 inch square baking pan with a little softened butter, or spray with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, ginger and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until moist and crumbly.
- Set the topping aside until needed.
Cake
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and ginger.
- Separately, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, melted butter, oil and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and use a spatula to stir the batter together until there are just a few floury streaks remaining. The batter will be thick.
- Add half the chopped plums, and fold them in with the spatula. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Scatter the remaining chopped plums over the batter, then sprinkle with the crumb topping.
- Bake the cake for about 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester or sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool the cake for about 30-45 minutes, then cut into pieces and serve warm, or at room temperature.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
There’s no need to peel the plums. The peel has a lot of the plum’s flavor, and the texture is very soft in the baked cake.
You can use either, and some types are more tart or sweet than others. Black plums are red inside, while red plums are yellow inside.
Instead of the plums, you can use nectarines, peaches or apricots, or even berries such as blueberries, blackberries or raspberries. I don’t recommend using strawberries, which are too watery.
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
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High Altitude Ginger Plum Crumb Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Cake
- 2 cups cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¾ tsp ground ginger
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup full fat sour cream
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ lb plums (about 4 plums), pitted and chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
Instructions
Crumb Topping
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly brush a 9×9 inch square baking pan with a little softened butter, or spray with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, ginger and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until moist and crumbly.
- Set the topping aside until needed.
Cake
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and ginger.
- Separately, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, melted butter, oil and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and use a spatula to stir the batter together until there are just a few floury streaks remaining. The batter will be thick.
- Add half the chopped plums, and fold them in with the spatula. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Scatter the remaining chopped plums over the batter, then sprinkle with the crumb topping.
- Bake the cake for about 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester or sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool the cake for about 30-45 minutes, then cut into pieces and serve warm, or at room temperature.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!