Vegan Poppyseed and Plum Marble Cake with Crumbles
I've already mentioned it in one place or another, but I never tire of emphasizing it: For me, stirred cakes are the best choice to go with a coffee in the afternoon. If it were up to me, all cafés of this world wouldn't need any elaborate vegan cakes or no-bake creations - if the lemon cake is baked without egg, butter, and milk, I'm absolutely happy.
We already have recipes for stirred cake classics like marble cake, lemon and poppy seed cake or a simply nut loaf cake on the blog, so this time I wanted to do something more "sophisticated." And so today, a marble cake meets a poppy seed filling, juicy plums, and a crumble topping. However, what remains is the super simple preparation I appreciate so much about stirred cakes.
To make the cake batter, mix all the ingredients and add poppy seeds to part of the batter, so you get two different batters. If you don't like poppy seeds, you can, of course, opt for the traditional version with cocoa powder instead. To ensure the classic pattern runs through the whole cake and is evenly distributed, I prefer to add the batters alternately and in dollops to the cake pan before swirling it with a wooden skewer. Still, you can go for your own marble cake technique, of course.
Including the plum layer and crumble topping, your cake will be quite tall, making the baking time approx. 60 minutes. Feel free to cover the cake before the end of the baking time if the crumbles get too dark. You can test the doneness of your cake with a wooden skewer. To do this, insert a wooden skewer at an angle into the cake and pull it out again. If there is no batter sticking to the skewer, the cake is done. Be aware that the juicy plums may leave some spots on the skewer that do not come from the batter itself.
Vegan Poppyseed and Plum Marble Cake with Crumbles
Ingredients
For the batter:
- 250 g (2 cups) wheat flour (type 405) or spelt flour (type 603)
- 125 g (0.66 cup) sugar
- 10 g (2 tsp) baking powder
- 5 g (1 tsp) cornstarch
- 8 g (1.5 tsp) vanilla sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 175 ml (0.75 cup) plant-based milk
- 25 g (1 oz) apple sauce
- 150 ml (0.66 cup) neutral canola oil
Also:
- 65 g (2.25 oz) ground poppy seeds
- 40 ml (2.5 tbsp) plant-based milk
- 8 plums
For the crumbles:
- 65 g (0.5 cup) wheat flour (type 405) or spelt flour (type 603)
- 30 g (0.25 cup) ground almonds
- 30 g (2.5 tbsp) sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 65 g (0.5 stick) cold vegan butter
Instructions
First, prepare the crumble dough. Mix flour, ground almonds, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add the cold vegan butter in small chunks and work it in with cold hands until a dough is formed. Refrigerate the crumble dough until later.
For the batter, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cornstarch, vanilla sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Then add plant-based milk, apple sauce, and canola oil and mix until smooth.
Add about one-third of the batter to a separate bowl, then add ground poppy seeds and the remaining plant-based milk and stir until combined.
Wash and deseed the plums, then cut them into wedges.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F (convection heat). Line a loaf pan with parchment paper – this will help to remove the cake from the pan later. Add large dollops of both batters alternately into the loaf pan, then swirl with a wooden skewer to create the typical marble cake pattern. Arrange the plum wedges over the batter and press them down to partially seep into the batter. Then spread the crumble on top of the cake.
Bake the cake at 180°C/355°F for about 60 minutes. To see if the cake is done, insert a toothpick at an angle, then remove it. If there is no batter stuck to it, the cake is done. Be aware that the juicy plums may leave some marks on the skewer. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely.
Tip: If the crumbles become too dark before the end of the baking time, cover the cake with aluminum foil.
