Omas German Plum Cake Recipes

GERMAN PLUM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Beat white sugar, softened butter, and eggs together in a bowl until creamy. Whisk 2 cups flour and baking powder together in another bowl. And flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until just combined. Press mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
• Arrange plums on top of butter mixture in the baking dish.
• Stir brown sugar, 2 cups flour, and 1/2 cup cold butter together in a bowl until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Spread crumble mixture over plums in the baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cake is set and plums are soft, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Cool for 1 hour before slicing.

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.

TRADITIONAL GERMAN PLUM CAKE (ZWETSCHGENKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Sift flour into a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
• Crumble yeast into well and mix it with 1 tablespoon of sugar, milk and some flour. This first yeast-mixture should be still fluid. Cover and let rise in warm place for 20 minutes.
• Add remaining sugar, melted butter, egg and a good pinch of salt and mix with yeast mixture and flour. Knead with floured hands until dough is peeling away from the side of the bowl and blistering. This step may take 10 minutes (or more). Use some additional flour, if dough is too sticky. At the end you should have a smooth dough.
• Cover and let rise in warm place for about 25 to 30 minutes or until dough has doubled.
• Meanwhile prepare the plums. Cut lengthwise and pit them. Cut the still connected plum halves once again lengthwise, but do not cut through. You should have a depitted plum which you can easily flatten.
• Grease backing tray. Dough is calculated for a baking tray of 11 3/4 x 15 inches.
• Remove yeast dough from bowl, knead once or twice and roll out on baking tray using a floured rolling pin. Along the sides of the baking tray form a border with yeast dough.
• Place plums on yeast dough in closely rows and press slightly into dough. Let rise again for 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven (425 F, 220 C).
• Bake the plum cake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile mix sugar and ground cinnamon for topping.
• Remove plum cake from oven and sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture. Cut into 20 pieces and serve warm or cold with whipped cream.
• NOTE on Baker's yeast: If possible use fresh baker's yeast. But you can replace it by 1 1/2 packages dry yeast.
• NOTE on Damson Plums: a traditional German Plum Cake is made with the slightly tart and not too juicy Damson Plums. You can also use other plum varieties, but the plums shouldn't be over-ripped or too juicy. I have tried it with other plum varieties and have reduced amount of sugar in topping.
• NOTE on traditional German Plum Cake: in my opinion this cake has to be made with yeast dough. It takes more time to make than other doughs, but it is worthwhile. Don't be afraid of the juices. This cake has to be juicy!
• There are existing several names for this type of frutit cake in Germany: Zwetschgenkuchen, Pflaumenkuchen and in Bavaria Zwetschgendatschi. Zwetschgen is the German name for Damson plums.

OMA'S GERMAN MARBLE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 10 inch tube pan.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in egg yolks. Continue beating for 10 minutes.
• Gradually stir in flour, alternating with splashes of milk, until all of the flour and milk are mixed in. Stir in baking powder.
• In a separate bowl, beat egg whites. Fold egg whites into batter.
• Reserve 1/4 of the batter, and pour the rest into a greased, floured tube pan.
• Mix cocoa into the remaining 1/4 of the batter. Then turn into tube pan, and fold under with a fork to produce a marbled appearance.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

GERMAN PLUM CAKE WITH STREUSEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 10-inch springform pan.
• Lay plum slices flat in a single layer on paper towels to dehydrate slightly while you prepare the cake.
• Prepare almond crust: Mix almonds and sour cream in a saute pan. Gently saute over medium heat, being careful not to overcook, until almonds are lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add salt. Crush almonds manually into smaller pieces and distribute evenly across the bottom of the prepared pan.
• Prepare batter: mix marzipan and softened butter in a large bowl until mostly well blended. Mix in 6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar and lemon zest until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Whisk 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour with baking powder in a separate bowl. Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until well combined.
• Place large spoonfuls of batter over the almond crust. Use the spoon to carefully push the top of the batter from the center of the pan outwards towards the edges, spreading evenly and being careful not to displace the almonds.
• Arrange multiple layers of plum slices over the batter, pressing down a bit after each layer, except the top one; you will likely have 3 to 4 plum layers.
• Prepare streusel: Mix sugar, melted butter, and vanilla in a bowl until well combined. Blend in 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour by hand until crumbly. Sprinkle streusel evenly over the cake.
• Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Start checking for doneness at about 48 minutes, though it may take 10 minutes longer if the plums are very juicy. Do not overcook the streusel layer.
• Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Remove sides and let cool completely before serving, about 30 minutes.

ZWETSCHGENDATSCHI (GERMAN PLUM SHEET CAKE)

Steps:

• Combine flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix in 1 cup sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt. Add 1 1/3 cups butter and eggs. Knead everything into a smooth dough. Shape dough into a ball, press flat, cover, and chill in the refrigerator 1 hour to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet with butter.
• Cut halved plums in half again, without cutting all the way through, so they fan out.
• Roll pastry dough out on a lightly floured work surface. Line the bottom and sides of the prepared baking sheet with dough. Mix 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.
• Arrange plums side by side on the pastry dough; very small plums should overlap. Dot plums with 2 tablespoons butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and almonds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pastry crust is lightly browned, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow plum cake to cool, then cut into squares. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.