Oil and butter: you can use both instead of only oil. Use 1/4 cup of oil and 1/4 cup of butter, at room temperature. Beat soft butter with sugar for 2 minutes, then add eggs, one at a time, and then oil in a stream, beating until you have a thick, satiny batter. Follow from step 5 in the recipe above. 

Organization: always read the recipe before starting and make sure you have all the ingredients measured and at the right temperature, the right pan size, utensils, and enough counter space to work comfortably.

Loaf pan: you can use large loaf pan and you will have a taller cake with less fruit on top.

Flavorings: plums pair well with cinnamon, cardamom, and almond, so you can add a large pinch of one of the spices and some pure almond extract. Also tangerine zest if you don't have oranges. Or no orange zest and use more spice.

Storing: this cake keeps well for several days in the fridge, well wrapped, and can be frozen up to a month. Keep in mind that frozen fruit never comes back to its original state. But it still works.

Fruit: plums work very well with this sweet cake batter because they have a good acid level, but it's a great recipe to use with other stone fruit: peaches, nectarines, apricots and even cherries.