Zwetschgenkuchen (German Plum Cake)

About This Recipe

Zwetschgenkuchen is the taste of late German summer — a humble but magnificent open-faced yeast cake blanketed in Italian plums, perfumed with cinnamon and baked until the fruit collapses into a jammy, caramelised topping. Sold at every Bäckerei (bakery) and served at every Kaffee und Kuchen afternoon in late August and September when prune plums briefly come into season.

Ingredients

Serves 12

• 300 gplain flour
• 7 ginstant yeast
• 50 gsugar(for dough)
• 1 tspsalt
• 80 mlwarm milk
• 70 gbutter(softened)
• 1egg
• 900 gItalian plums (Zwetschgen)(halved and stoned)
• 4 tbspsugar(for topping)
• 1 tspcinnamon

Instructions

1. 1

   Make dough

   Mix flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add warm milk, egg, and butter. Knead until smooth. Cover and prove 1 hour until doubled.

2. 2

   Press into tray

   Press dough into a greased 30×40 cm baking tray.

3. 3

   Top with plums

   Arrange plum halves cut-side up, overlapping slightly, in rows across the dough.

4. 4

   Prove and bake

   Rest 20 min. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 190 °C for 35–40 min until golden.

5. 5

   Serve

   Serve warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream.

Variations

• •

  Spread cream cheese under the plums

• •

  Add a streusel topping

• •

  Use cherries or apricots instead of plums

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

Storage

Best the day it is made. Store at room temperature up to 2 days — do not refrigerate as it dries out the yeast base.

Frequently Asked Questions