Vegan Plum-Almond Cake – Torta Di Prugne E Mandorle

A few weeks ago, my friend Vasanti of Signature Concoctions posted on Facebook about a plum almond cake that she had made for her husband’s birthday. Vasanti takes amazing food photographs, and the picture of the cake she posted immediately drew my attention for a couple reasons – 1) it used plums of which I had an abundance this year, thanks to the tree in my yard and 2) it was an almond cake and I love any baked goods that contain almonds. The recipe she used was adapted from the cookbook Williams-Sonoma Rustic Italian: Simple, Authentic Recipes for Everyday Cooking. The cake is a traditional Italian Plum-Almond Cake known as Torta Di Prugne E Mandorle. Anyway, long story short, I began obsessing about making a vegan version of this cake and went through not 1, not 2, not 3 but 5 attempts before I cracked the code on this one. Yes, I know that comes with the territory for food bloggers. And those who know me well know that I have an OCD when it comes to perfecting a recipe.

I made quite a few tweaks to the original recipe – I subbed whole wheat pastry flour for all-purpose flour, used an equal amount of almond flour to increase the taste of almonds, reduced the amount of milk and sugar called for in the original recipe and used orange zest instead of lemon zest (the last one was a tip from Vasanti). The result was a crumbly moist cake with just the right amount of sweetness – the perfect accompaniment to tea or coffee.

Rustic Italian Vegan Plum-Almond Cake – Torta Di Prugne E Mandorle

Recipe by theplantpaletteblogCourse: DessertCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Medium

Servings

8

slices

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

A light and crumbly plum almond cake with hints of vanilla and orange makes the perfect accompaniment for tea or coffee

Ingredients

• Dry

• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup almond flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

• Wet

• 1/2 cup organic cane sugar

• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used avocado oil)

• Juice of 1 large lemon (~3 tablespoons)

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Zest of 1 large orange (~2 tablespoons)

• Toppings

• 6-8 plums, pitted and halved

• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Line the bottom of an 8 inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides.
• Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients until well combined.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Do not overmix.
• Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
• Top evenly with the sliced almonds and plums.
• Bake in the oven for 22 – 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge.