German fresh prune plum cake
Zwetschen Kuchen
Description
My grandmother immigrated from Germany in the early 1920's and brought with her a wide variety of cultural traditions, both home and culinary. When we visited her, we enjoyed various traditional German foods, including Zwetschen Kuchen, or fresh plum cake, which she always made in the late summer when prune plums were available. These little prune plums are only available for a couple of weeks at the end of August or beginning of summer.
All over Germany, this cake is loved by everyone with afternoon coffee. The cake is traditionally served "mit schlag," or with whipped cream.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warmed milk and let sit until bubbly.
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Mix flour, salt and 1/3 cup of sugar in mixing bowl of a mixer. Stir in milk/yeast mixture, butter, egg and remaining milk into the flour mixture.
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Mix until it forms a soft dough.
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Cover and let dough rise for about an hour in a slightly warm place until it has about doubled in size.
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Grease a 9 x 13 rimmed baking sheet with butter. Deflate dough and spread it out on the cookie sheet. Push the edges of the dough up around the sides, creating a rim. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about a half an hour.
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While the dough is rising, halve and pit the plums and begin pre-heating the oven to 350*
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Once the dough has rested/risen for 30 minutes, place the plums on the cake, sprinkle with the rest of the sugar and dot with butter.
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Place in oven and bake for about 45 minutes, checking its progress after about 30 minutes. Enjoy with whipped cream or ice cream for afternoon coffee or an elegant late summer dessert.
