Is Plum Cake Acidic or Alkaline?
Plum cake (baked) is neutral: PRAL close to zero: hardly shifts your acid-base balance.
Classification
Remarkable for a cake: plum cake is neutral at −0.4 because the thick layer of plums brings enough potassium to almost fully offset the protein and phosphorus from the yeast dough and egg. Batter cakes without fruit, such as marble cake, are clearly in the plus. The value says nothing about sugar and butter, and whipped cream on top barely changes it.
In the Sweets & Snacks category, plum cake (baked) ranks #36 of 91, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Chocolate mousse (−0.5), Caramel candy (−0.5), Chocolate marshmallow kiss (−0.5). More acid-forming are Chocolate pudding (−0.4), Chewing gum (sugar-free) (−0.3), Lollipop (−0.1).
Acidic or alkaline: PRAL, not pH
On this site, acidic and alkaline refer to the PRAL (potential renal acid load). It estimates what a food leaves behind once it has been digested: a positive value is acid-forming, a negative value is alkalizing. That is different from the pH of the food itself: a lemon tastes sour, yet its PRAL is −4.0, so it is alkalizing. Your diet does not change your blood pH. It does change how much acid your kidneys have to deal with.
Goes well with
Frequently Asked Questions
Is plum cake acidic?
It depends on what you mean by acidic. The pH describes the food itself, for example how sour it tastes. The PRAL describes what it leaves behind after digestion: Plum cake (baked) has a PRAL of −0.4 per 100 g, so it counts as neutral in your daily acid-base balance.
Does plum cake count in the acid-base balance at all?
Hardly. At −0.4 per 100 g, plum cake is in the neutral range between −0.5 and +0.5. You can eat it without shifting your balance.
Plum Cake logged, balance checked.
Basentracker adds up every meal automatically and shows whether your day is in the alkaline range. The same values as on this page, all 977 foods, photo scan, recipes.
Free for Android · iPhone coming soon
Compare all Sweets & Snacks: Sweets & Snacks table. Common questions are answered in Acidic or Alkaline?, and the PRAL calculator adds up a whole meal.
Source: Basentracker food database (PRAL according to Remer & Manz, calculated from protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium per 100 g). This information does not replace medical advice.