German Plum Kuchen Recipes

GERMAN PLUM CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, add the sugar, vanilla, egg, lemon peel, sour cream and salt (if desired).
• Mix the flour and baking powder and add that into the mixture.
• Grease the base of a round baking pan and spread the dough over the pan.
• Liberally spread plums over the dough.
• To make the optional topping, cream the butter, add flour, sugar and cinnamon.
• Sprinkle over the plums and bake for 30-45 minutes in the middle rack at 375 F.
• Be careful not to let the bottom burn!
• Serve with lots of freshly-made whipped cream.
• If you like, you may also sprinkle rum or cinnamon over the fruit before baking.

PFLAUMENKUCHEN (GERMAN PLUM CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Quarter each plum so that all four quarters remain clinging together by their skin, forming a row.
• In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter together by cutting the butter in with a fork.
• In a measuring cup, combine the beaten egg and almond extract, then add enough milk to make 3/8 of a cup (aka 3 oz) total. (It may seem strange that there isn't an exact amount of milk to add, but I promise this method works. You'll likely use under 2 oz of milk, considering that a large egg is usually around 1.5 oz or so.).
• Add this to the dry ingredients and mix them together with your hands, forming a dough.
• If the dough is too sticky, add a touch more flour.
• Spread the dough thinly over a 13x9 inch jelly roll pan and cover it with overlapping rows of plums. (It may seem like the dough will never stretch to fit the entire pan, but be patient! Use the heel of your hand to gently spread the dough out evenly to each corner of the pan, the crust is supposed to be on the thinner side anyway.).
• Bake the tart for 1 hour and let it cool slightly before sprinkling with sugar for extra sweetness (or skip the sugar if you like it sweet-tart like I do).
• The plums will change color from green to a deep magenta as they bake, and will ooze lots of sticky purple juice that stains the crust beneath. Be careful not to overbake, this crust should be on the softer side.

PLUM KUCHEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 7x11-inch baking dish.
• Beat 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons margarine together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Mix eggs, 1 cup flour, baking powder, and salt into creamed margarine mixture; stir in vanilla. Pour batter into the prepared baking dish. Arrange plums, skin side-down, atop batter.
• Mix 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 3 tablespoons margarine, and cinnamon together in a bowl until crumbly; spoon over batter and plums.
• Bake in the preheated oven until plums are softened, about 35 minutes.

FRESH PLUM KUCHEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine flour and baking powder; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Add lemon zest. Pour into a greased 10-in. springform pan. Arrange plums on top; gently press into batter. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. , Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 40-50 minutes or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of pan; remove sides. Cool on a wire rack.

GERMAN KUCHEN

Steps:

• 1. Dough- Scald milk and add butter, sugar, and salt. Dissolve yeast in warm water in seperate bowl and then add to milk mixture. Beat in eggs and then flour. Cover and let rise until doubled. About an hour. Punch down and divide into 5 pieces. Roll out into desired shape and let rise 30 minutes. Then choose your topping. I used a 9" round cake pan for mine.
• 2. Cinnamon Topping: Use a pastry blender to mix butter and brown sugar and flour. Add cinnamon and sprinkle over dough after it rises the second time. Dot with Butter if desired. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
• 3. Cherry Topping: Heat can of dark cherry pie filling and spread on crust after it rises second time. Bake for 20 minutes at 375.
• 4. Cheese Topping; Mix cottage cheese, egg and sugar in blender intil creamy. Heat slowly until warm on stove. Pour on dough after rises second time. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.
• 5. Butter Topping: Beat together sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly beat in oil. Add oil too fast and it will curdle. Heat on top of stove until hot and pour on crust after second rising. Bake 25 minutes at 375.
• 6. Apple Topping: Peel and slice thinly 3 apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and nutmeg to taste. Roll this dough out in a rectangle. Fill the center with apples and dot with butter. Bake 20 minutes at 375.

PLUM KUCHEN

Steps:

• Stir together yeast and warm water in mixer bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.)
• Add 2 cups flour, 2/3 cup sugar, salt, yogurt, egg, zest, and vanilla to yeast mixture and mix at medium-low speed 1 minute. Beat in 1 stick butter, 1 Tbsp at a time, until incorporated. Beat at medium speed until dough is smooth and shiny, about 5 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.) Scrape down side of bowl and sprinkle dough with remaining 2 tablespoons flour. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Spread remaining 2 tablespoons butter in bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Cut each plum half into 5 or 6 slices and arrange in 1 layer pan.
• Stir dough until flour is incorporated, then spread evenly over plums. Loosely cover with buttered plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until almost doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
• Bake until kuchen is golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then invert and unmold onto a rack to cool completely.

ZWETSCHEKUCHEN (GERMAN PLUM TART)

Steps:

• Place the flour, 1 1/3 cup of sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon, and butter into the work bowl of a food processor, and process until the mixture turns grainy. Stop the machine, add eggs and egg yolks, and process in the machine until the mixture gathers itself up into one dough ball. If the dough doesn't ball up, stop the machine, sprinkle several drops of water onto the dough, and process again. Place the dough into a covered container and refrigerate at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
• The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes to warm up.
• Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to make a 9 1/2-inch circle. Dough will be rich and sticky. Scrape up the dough circle, and press into a 9-inch pie dish. Quarter and slice the plums, and place skin sides down onto the dough in a neat ring, starting at the outer edge and working in a neat row towards the center.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the plums are bubbling hot and the crust starts to brown, about 45 minutes.
• Allow the tart to cool, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar before serving.

PLUM KüCHEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Sift flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and salt into small bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 6 tablespoons butter with 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then extracts. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with sour cream in 2 additions. Spread batter in pan.
• Arrange plum wedges on their sides in 4 long rows atop batter. Mix 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar in small bowl. Sprinkle over plums. Melt 2 tablespoons butter. Drizzle over kuchen.
• Bake kuchen until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer pan to rack. Cool until just warm, about 30 minutes, or to room temperature. Cut into 4 lengthwise strips. Cut each strip crosswise into thirds.