Old-Fashioned Plum Cake Recipe with Meringue Topping

1) 500 g/17 oz of seedless plum halves, fresh or frozen
2) 5 eggs
3) 450 g/16 oz of granulated sugar
4) 200 ml/7 fl oz of sunflower oil
5) 1 tsp of vanilla extract
6) 200 ml/7 fl oz of cold cow milk
7) 10 g/0.35 oz of baking powder
8) 600 g/21 oz of all-purpose flour
9) a pinch of salt
10) cinnamon powder to taste

1) 5 egg whites
2) 300 g/11 oz of granulated sugar

1) cut plums into halves lengthwise and remove the seeds
2) separate egg yolks and place them into a bowl
3) add sugar gradually to the bowl while stirring by mixer
4) add oil gradually to the bowl while stirring by mixer
5) add vanilla extract, then add milk gradually and stir with a mixer
6) add baking powder, then sift the flour and add it into the bowl
7) whisk 5 egg whites with a pinch of salt until hard
8) add gradually egg white to the previously prepared mixture and combine gently by hand to incorporate air into the composition
9) coat a tray with baking paper, then pour the cake dough inside into a uniform layer
10) place plum halves over the dough into rows with the skin downside
11) sprinkle over plums some cinnamon powder to taste
12) place the tray into the preheated oven at 180 C/360 F and bake until the cake is golden brown on top
13) take the tray out from the oven and wait until the plum cake cools to room temperature
14) in the meantime, put some water into a pot and place it on the stovetop over low temperature and wait until the water starts bubbling
15) place 5 egg whites into a high-temperature proof bowl and place it over the pot with hot water
16) add sugar into the bowl and stir it by the mixer at low speed over steam until you get a hard meringue
17) stretch meringue over the homemade plum cake into a layer
18) wait until the meringue is hard before slicing the cake up (at least 6 hours)
19) cut cake edges to be straight, then slice the cake up into pieces of the desired size (I recommend following the plum rows to get good-looking pieces)