Zwetschgenkuchen ~ When a prune is blessed :).

Zwetschgenkuchen has to be one of my favorite childhood memories. Our plums were oblong, sweet, and dry. When you baked them, they would get soft, juicy, and a bit tart. Perfect for covering with sugar..........

If you are lucky enough to locate "Italian Plums", "Italian Prunes", or "European Prunes" :)....then here is a recipe for you!

You will need:
4.5 cups of flour
3 tbsp yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
2.3 cup softened (not melted) butter
a few tsp of lemon juice
about 2-3 lbs of prunes
Either bread crumbs or almond meal

Warm your milk. In a glass bowl, mix half the milk, the yeast, and 1 tblsp of sugar, and 3 tblsp of flour that you have taken from your ingredients. Let that sit about 15 minutes until a sponge has formed.

In a separate bowl, mix your other ingredients. Add your sponge and beat with a dough hook (or knead by hand) until the you have an elastic ball of dough. Dust bowl with flour, put ball back in, and cover for about an hour.

Wash and pit prunes, making sure not to cut through the prune (see image below).

Pre-heat oven to 430 degrees.


Rinse & dry plums


Cut plums, but leave on side "attached" when you pit them, like a book.


Spread dough in greased sheet. Spread thin, as the dough rises alot when baking. Spread a layer of bread crumbs or almond meal before layering the plums, this helps soak up the juice while baking. Stack the plums standing up, start on the outside and go in...try to put them as close as possible.



This is the what the finished cake looks like before it goes in the oven.

Take a look at the cake after about 25 minutes. You want to make sure the middle is done, you will feel a slight resistance if you poke it with a stick :). While you cool the cake, sprinkle with some SUGAH!, cinnamon, and sliced almonds (if you wish).

Fresh whipped cream.......mmmm........it's just the best.

Guten Appetit!

Apples, Apples, Apples...& a new family member.

While much of the rest of the country is already enjoying the first snow, we here in the California "low lands" are just feeling the first "eek" of chill. I love the first chill...my favorite time of year is now. Especially in the mornings when everything is fresh & dewey...

Did I mention before that autumn is my favorite time of year?? :)

I always look forward driving up to Apple Hill with my family to buy apples. Granted, nowadays Apple Hill comes to you at the Farmers' Market, but we still drive up the mountain instead. We had to wait for it to get colder, and I will NEVER go on a weekend, so we finally made it up there on Monday.

We returned with close to 50lbs of APPLES...yum.

I thought I would come home and make apple everything. Instead, all my energy went to a million other things, including my new baby.

Let me introduce you to our newest family member, LuLu:




Yep, she is a beauty! And since the cute PG&E man fixed her today too, she is both beautiful & functional. So what is a girl to do? Apple everything. Just so you know the pivotal importance of LuLus arrival, I have always swooned at these old ovens. My kitchen cabinets are original 1950 metal cabinets, now painted rad, but still metal :). Most of my neighbors have ripped these out for more modern kitchens, my kitchen is unmodern, and I still believe I bought this house because of the cabinets (sure as hell was not the neighborhood....). I feel like a long lost child has found her way home....ahhhhh. Ok, enough of that.




Apple Cake

5-7 apples, peeled & sliced
1 stick butter
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cup flour
swig of milk :)

Heat oven to 356 degrees. Yes, 356.

Whip butter smooth. Add sugar & eggs, and beat for a least 4 minutes. Add vanilla. Sift flour & powder (or not..), add to mixture and alternate with milk to keep the batter smooth, but not runny. Should have a rather stiff consistancy.

Grease medium spring form. Spread batter on bottom, then layer apples, careful not to overlap too much.

Bake 60-70 minutes.

Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, and almond slivers. Serve with whipped cream :).


My applesauce is simple apples, cloves, and cinnamon. I don't even add sugar, except in the end I may add a bit brown sugar or maple syrup to thicken it up.





And with all those fabulous apple cores, I make scrap vinegar. Also adding cloves & cinnamon (are you seeing a pattern?).


Salute', my friends, have a fabulous weekend! I hope I have inspired you to be apple-ly.
Much love,
Heike