Plum and Almond Yogurt Loaf Cakes (Small Batch)

August 6, 2020

Life hack: if you serve cake with coffee, it’s a totally legitimate breakfast! Plus, these little loaves have fruit, nuts and yogurt - can I call this cake “healthy”? (no, no I can’t.) The almond flour and extract complement the tartness of the plums so nicely and evoke the flavors of a frangipane tart, but with a lot less effort. This recipe is super simple and comes together quickly - the hardest part is waiting while they bake. 

I got these little plum cuties from my local farmers market and it was really hard not to eat them all in one sitting. I purposely had to set some aside for these cakes. The smaller size made them perfect for the mini loaf pans, but you can also use slices of regular sized plums to create a nice pattern on top. 

This recipe is from Joy of Baking and I made very few modifications because it’s a really simple, solid recipe. When I first started baking more seriously, Joy of Baking was one of my go-to baking sites (it still is!) for all of the classic recipes (like lemon curd and snickerdoodles). 

recipe

Adapted from Joy of Baking yogurt cake

Time: ~1 hr 40 min

Quantity: 2 mini loaves (double the recipe for an 8 inch cake)

Ingredients

83g (1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons) all purpose flour

15 g (1/8 cup) almond flour (or ground almonds)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Zest of one lemon (optional)

1 large egg

60 g (1/4 cup) vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)

90 g (7 tablespoons) whole milk plain yogurt

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

100g (1/2 cup) granulated white sugar

3 small plums, pitted and cut in half

Process

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease your mini loaf pans (or your 8 inch cake pan). 

In a large bowl, combine flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and zest (zest is optional - I left it out). 

In a small bowl, combine egg, oil, yogurt and almond extract. Then mix in your sugar.  

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. 

Divide batter evenly into the prepared loaf pans (or cake pan) and top with the plum halves, cut side down. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Tips: 

• If you want more plums in the cake, you can fill your pan with half of the batter, place a layer of plums, then cover with the remaining batter before you top with more plums. 

• If you have sliced almonds, you can sprinkle those on top before baking for added texture.

• These are the mini loaf pans that I used.