Description
A tender pound cake with sweet soft plums and swirls of jammy lemon curd. A perfect between season cake bake.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 5–6 small to medium firm but ripe purple plumes, halved and pitted
- About 1/2 cup store-bought lemon curd
- Lightly sweetened soft whipped cream for serving
Instructions
- Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round baking pan (or springform pan), line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper and grease the parchment paper as well. Lightly flour the pan and knock any extra flour from the pan.
- In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, coriander if using, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with electric hand beaters or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute per egg. Beat in the vanilla extract.
- Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is mixed in well. Beat in the sour cream on medium speed.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Stop the mixer and finish incorporating the batter until well combined. The batter will be thick.
- Spread half of the cake batter into the bottom of the prepared pan. An offset spatula is a great tool to spread the batter. Arrange 10 to 12 plum halves, cut side down, on top of the batter. Spread the remaining batter over the plums and use the offset spatula to spread into an even layer. Dollop with big globs of lemon curd and swirl just slightly.
- Bake until deeply golden and the sides of the cake are pulling away from the pan. A toothpick inserted in the cake will come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. This is a long bake cake at 50-55 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking. Remove cake from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before trying to invert the cake.
- Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cake from the pan. Place a flat plate over the pan and invert the cake. Peel the parchment round off the cake and gently invert the cake top side up.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with lightly sweetened cream and black coffee or tea. Cake lasts, wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.