Celebrating fall arrival with this Vegan Plum Hazelnut Cake deliciously filled with fresh juicy plums paired with the sweet, nutty flavour of hazelnuts, and topped with the delicate floral aroma of lavender.

With summer behind us, it’s time to embrace the beautiful fall and its bounty. Once again, we’re spoiled with various fruits and veggies, perfect in colour and shape, delicious to taste, and so nutritious to our body. We all have favourite fruits every season, so mines are plums and grapes for this season, my friends. All fruits are unique, but my fondest childhood memories take me back to the best plum jams my grandmothers used to make, and the sweet and juicy grapes that my grandfather always brought by from his picking adventures.

As you’ve noticed already, the plums are the star of this beautiful vegan cake. It’s a recipe that I’ve tested a couple of times, and now I feel it’s ready to be shared with you, my precious plant-based foodie friends. :) If you’ve never made a plum cake before, you’re in for a treat, a healthy one must I say.

First off, it’s a gluten-free cake that can be enjoyed with no remorse, and make your tummy happy. It’s also low in sugar, unrefined sugar used, of course. I’ve decided to let the star ingredient shine and leave the natural plum sugars to captivate the taste buds. When cooking or baking with fruits, I can give you one good advice, “forget the sugar.” What I mean is, think about the natural sugars in your fruit first and find a way to cook or bake in the healthiest way possible, attempting to use little to almost no additional unrefined sugars. If the recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, cut that in half or more, and add more fruits. I think you get my point. :)

There are many different types of plums, so you can’t go wrong with any of them. Use your favourite plums, and even better if you pick them from your tree in the backyard. Plums are so flavoured, sweet, juicy, meaty.

There is everything to love about plums.

I’d call this cake an easy gluten-free bake. It’s straightforward, as long as you measure the flours precisely as the recipe calls. My approach of making the cake batter is classic, and if you don’t have a stand-up mixer, don’t feel intimated to use your hand mixer or even a larger hand whisk. Don’t forget the best tip for gluten-free cakes when making your flour mix – overmixing the batter is for the best, and it’ll help you achieve a fluffier and stable texture. It’s the opposite of using flours that have gluten. Overmixing batters that have gluten will make the dough tough, which is a baking fail. However, do remember that using pre-made gluten-free flours won’t work the same. I always make my gluten-free flour mix and avoid binders and additives like xanthan gum. If you’ve experimented with gluten-free baking using the pre-made gluten-free mix, please feel free to adapt the recipe. :)

A successful cake bake also stands in the texture you achieve. You want to achieve a balance in flavours and overall texture and, ultimately, presentation. Adding hazelnuts to this cake brought a different dimension in taste. My first trial of this plum had no hazelnuts, and I knew that something was missing. I’ve experimented with coconut shreds during the second recipe test, and it wasn’t bad, but I was still not satisfied. And so, I decided on hazelnuts. Third recipe trial, a success! Feeling experimental, I’ve played with some lavender buds right after baking the cake, and what a fantastic aroma the cake had. The heat of the cake helps release all the beautiful subtle oils of the lavender buds, and it provided the cake with the perfect flowery notes but not overdone, as infusing would have been.

One bite of this delicious Vegan Plum Hazelnut Cake, and it’ll make your afternoon better. It’s healthfully made but still, a natural sweet indulgence, perfect to serve with coconut cream on top, vanilla ice cream, on warmer days, or with your favourite cup of tea on the side.

Share this recipe with your loved ones, and help them see how delightful plant-based gluten-free desserts can be.

Until next time!

Warmly,

T

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