Plum-Cardamom Upside-Down Cake

By David Tanis

Updated October 5, 2025

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes, plus cooling
Prep Time
10 minutes
Rating
5(102)
Comments
Read comments

Turn this easy to make (and easy to love) cake right-side up, and it’s a rustic beauty, generously made with any kind of plum. It keeps well and actually improves the longer it sits. So don’t give big servings. Have a reasonable sliver at the table after dinner and save a nice fat slice for breakfast.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 servings

FOR THE TOPPING

  • Unsalted butter, for greasing pan

  • 1 cup/220 grams packed light brown sugar

  • 2 pounds plums, pitted and sliced into wedges (about 7 plums)

  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

FOR THE CAKE

  • 1 ⅓ cups/260 grams granulated sugar

  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature

  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

  • ½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter, melted

  • 1 ⅓ cup/170 grams all-purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

  • Pinch of salt

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 to 10 servings)

67 grams carbs; 103 milligrams cholesterol; 391 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 13 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 130 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 52 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan. Coat the bottom of the pan evenly with light brown sugar. Toss plum slices with lemon juice, then arrange in a single layer on the sugar, skin side down. Set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Put granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment (or in a sturdy mixing bowl if using a whisk). Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium until the mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Add butter. Increase speed a bit and continue beating until mixture is fluffy, another 5 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Sift together flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt. On low speed, add flour mixture to egg-sugar mixture. Stir briefly to incorporate into a smooth batter.

  4. Step 4

    Spread the batter over the plums in the prepared pan. Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.

  5. Step 5

    Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then invert over a cake platter. Loosen and remove pan. Cool completely to room temperature.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
102 user ratings
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Comments

Nell

And what kind of plum? Three types are at my grocery store: very big black plums, medium size purple plums (round and slighty red skin) and small Italian prune plums. I just made the classic plum torte recipe (which does not specific what type of plum) and it was a total failure: the ripe purple plums I got stayed firm and did not cook down like in the picture. The result was: a boring white cake with hard plum halves on top. So before I do this recipe PLEASE let us know: WHAT KIND OF PLUMS?!

J.

Approach with caution! The pear/plum confusion should have been a tip-off, but there are a number of problems. 1. The amount of plums called for is weirdly high and left me with a bunch of leftover slices (3-4 avg purple is enough). 2. Strongly recommend a parchment circle. 3. The beating times are way too long (maybe for by-hand vs. stand mixer)? I followed them against my better judgement and the batter collapsed. Cake still rose but had a chewy texture. Guessing 2-3 min is more accurate.

Lynn

“Generously made with any kind of pear” while probably true, plum is in the title so is this from a different recipe? Perhaps I’ll try with 6 of one, half a dozen if the other.

A

Really enjoyed this one! It translated well to our gluten-free flour mix (celiac) and the carmelization on the plums was great. Super rich without being cloying.

A Monroig

Delicious! Sweet yet adult taste imparted by the cardamon. I was inspired by red flesh plums I found at Costco; so sweet and juicy had to eat them over the sink. Anyway, followed the recipe as written but did put parchment paper in the bottom of the springform pan and a cookie sheet under to catch the dripping juices. Excellent!

Rachel

Flavors are good but the cake collapsed- maybe too much air whipped into it after 10 minutes of beating? Also 2 tsp of baking powder is a lot… Plums caramelized nicely (although my oven is a mess! Can’t believe I forgot to put a sheep pan under the springform!) We had just the right number of plums to eat up (and not enough for the torte) so I might try it again if I’m in another I-have-7 plums-that-need-to-be-eaten-ASAP situation, but i need to figure out rising mods.

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