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!
