There’s something about the comforting aroma of a freshly baked plum cake that makes me feel right at home, and today, I’m thrilled to share with you a recipe that brings that cozy, nostalgic feeling to life. This Eggless Plum Cake is more than just a dessert; it’s a celebration of rich, wholesome flavors and the perfect balance of fruity, spiced, and nutty goodness. The base of the cake is infused with a beautiful medley of soaked dried fruits—raisins, apricots, cranberries, prunes, and tutti frutti—soaked in a citrusy mix of orange and lemon juice. This soak not only adds moisture but also allows the fruits to soak up all the delicious flavors, ensuring every bite is bursting with sweetness and depth.
As you bake, the spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove—fill the air with the most inviting, warm scent. Cocoa powder adds just the right amount of chocolatey richness, while the addition of almonds and walnuts provides a perfect crunch that pairs wonderfully with the soft, moist texture of the cake. Each slice is a celebration of layers—fruity, spiced, nutty, and just a little bit indulgent. I’ve always loved baking this plum cake, especially during the holidays or any special occasion. It’s the kind of treat that feels like a warm hug, perfect for sharing with friends and family. I hope you enjoy making this as much as I do—let’s get started and bring this delicious cake into your home!
INGREDIENTS USED IN EGGLESS PLUM CAKE
Orange juice and lemon juice
The citrus juices infuse the dried fruits during soaking, enhancing their flavor and adding a refreshing note to the overall cake profile. The juices, along with water, provide the liquid needed for rehydrating the dried fruits, ensuring they are plump and tender rather than chewy or dry in the cake. Lemon juice’s acidity reacts with the baking soda, creating carbon dioxide bubbles that help the cake rise slightly, contributing to a tender crumb despite being a dense fruit cake. Orange juice contributes a sweet and tangy citrus flavor, complementing the rich dried fruits and warm spices in the cake. I have used freshly squeezed juices for both but you can use store bought as well.
Dried fruits
Dried fruits like raisins, apricots, cranberries, prunes, and tutti frutti provide natural sweetness, enhancing the cake’s flavor profile without overwhelming it with added sugars. Each dried fruit contributes its unique flavor—apricots add a tangy-sweet note, prunes offer deep, earthy richness, while cranberries add a tart burst. Rehydrated dried fruits retain moisture during baking, ensuring the cake remains moist and preventing it from feeling dry or crumbly. Dried fruits like tutti frutti and cranberries introduce pops of color, making the cake visually appealing and festive, especially for holiday occasions.
Condensed milk
Condensed milk is a concentrated form of milk with sugar, which serves as the primary sweetener in this recipe, eliminating the need for additional sugar. Its thick, viscous consistency helps bind the ingredients together, contributing to the smooth texture of the batter. Since this is an eggless recipe, condensed milk acts as a substitute for eggs, providing structure and stability to the cake. It helps the cake hold its shape while maintaining a moist and soft crumb.
Butter
Butter adds a luxurious, rich flavor to the cake, enhancing the overall taste profile. Its creamy notes balance the spices and citrusy tang from the orange and lemon juice. Butter coats the flour proteins, limiting gluten formation and resulting in a soft, tender crumb—ideal for a fruit cake. Butter promotes even browning during baking, giving the cake an attractive golden crust that enhances both its appearance and flavor.
Milk
Milk adds liquid to the batter, ensuring it is adequately hydrated. This results in a smoother, more pliable batter that bakes into a moist and tender cake. The proteins in milk interact with the flour to create a soft, tender crumb while maintaining structural integrity. Milk helps dilute the condensed milk and melted butter, ensuring the batter is smooth and easily mixed without becoming overly thick or heavy. The milk provides an additional source of liquid that reacts with the baking powder and baking soda, releasing carbon dioxide and helping the cake rise. This is particularly important in creating a lighter texture in an otherwise dense cake.
Cocoa powder
Cocoa powder adds a subtle chocolatey richness to the cake, enhancing its complexity and balancing the sweetness of the dried fruits and condensed milk. It pairs beautifully with warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger, intensifying the overall warmth and depth of the cake. Cocoa powder contributes to the dark, festive color traditionally associated with plum cakes, giving it a rich, inviting appearance.
All purpose flour
All-purpose flour contains proteins (primarily gluten) that form a network when combined with liquid, giving the cake its shape and structure. This network holds the other ingredients together, preventing the cake from crumbling. Flour absorbs liquid from the wet ingredients (milk, butter, and condensed milk) and binds them together, ensuring a cohesive batter that bakes evenly. It thickens the batter, ensuring it has the correct consistency to hold its shape during baking. While the cake is inherently dense due to dried fruits and nuts, the flour prevents it from becoming overly heavy by creating a stable yet light structure.
Leavening Agents
Baking powder and baking soda produce carbon dioxide gas when they react with acidic and liquid components (like orange juice, lemon juice, and condensed milk). These gases create bubbles that expand during baking, causing the cake to rise. The air bubbles formed during the chemical reaction help create a soft, tender crumb instead of a dense or compact structure.
Spices
Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves add a warm, earthy depth that defines the classic taste of plum cake. By layering different spices, the cake develops a nuanced, multi-dimensional flavor profile that’s both comforting and festive. Spices like cinnamon and nutmeg evoke a sense of tradition and celebration, making the cake perfect for occasions like Christmas or festive gatherings. When baked, spices release their essential oils, filling the kitchen with an inviting, holiday-inspired fragrance that enhances the sensory appeal.
Dry fruits and nuts
Nuts such as almonds, walnuts provide a pleasant crunch and a contrast to the moist, dense nature of the cake. They add layers of texture to each bite, enhancing the overall eating experience. Nuts provide healthy fats, contributing to the richness and moisture of the cake. This helps in creating a tender crumb and maintaining the cake’s moisture over time.
EQUIPMENT USED FOR MAKING EGGLESS PLUM CAKE
Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons are an integral part of any baker’s kitchen and it’s very important to measure ingredients with precision.
A few mixing bowls and a whisk is what you need to prepare the batter in.
A spatula is my favourite kitchen equipment and always comes in handy at a lot of stages.
You would need a heavy bottomed saucepan to cook the fruit soak mixture.
I have used an 9X4 inch loaf pan to bake this cake.
OTHER RELATED RECIPES FROM THE BLOG
TIPS TO MAKE EGGLESS PLUM CAKE
- Cooking the soaking mixture helps the fruits absorb the flavors deeply and prevents them from drying out during baking. Make sure the fruits absorb most of the juices; if the mixture remains watery, it might make the cake batter too loose.
- Once you add the dry ingredients, fold gently. Overmixing can result in a dense cake as it activates the gluten in the flour.
- Toast the almonds and walnuts lightly before adding them to enhance their flavor and provide a better crunch.
- Plum cakes taste even better the next day as the flavors of the spices and fruits intensify. Wrap it tightly in cling film and store it in an airtight container.
- Replace equal amount of rum to water for an alcoholic version of the plum cake.
- For soak-
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ raisins
- ¼ apricots
- 2 tbsp cranberries
- ½ cup tutti fruity
- ¼ cup prunes
- For cake
- 6 tbsp butter
- ½ cup milk
- ¾ cup condensed milk
- 1+¼ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
- ⅛ th ginger powder
- ⅛ th clove powder
- ⅛ nutmeg
- Orange zest
- ¼ cup almonds
- ¼ cup walnuts
- In a saucepan, take orange juice, lemon juice and water. Add tutti frutti, raisins, dried apricots, dried cranberries and prunes to the juice mix and cook till the mixture thickens and the dry fruits absorb all the juices. Set aside.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk together melted butter, milk and condensed milk together in a bowl until well combined.
- Now add in the soak we prepared.
- Gently fold in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and orange zest to the above mixture until everything is well combined and there are no large flour pockets in the batter. Do not over mix at this stage.
- Keep a small portion of the soaked dry fruits aside and fold in the rest along with the chopped walnuts, almonds in the batter and transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or only until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool. Dust some icing sugar on top and serve!
If you like my Eggless Plum Cake recipe and happen to make them in your kitchen, do tag me on Instagram and share pictures with me using #Bakewithshivesh. Happy Baking!
Leave a Reply