Italian plums come into season in early autumn, so for me September has always been Zwetschgenkuchen month. Zwetschgenkuchen is the name of a delicious, juicy plum yeast cake from the province of Hessen, Germany. No fancy imported ingredients are required. You can make this mouth-watering treat anywhere you are able to purchase fresh, deep purple Italian plums. Since this week’s Weekly Image post talks about heirloom recipes, I’m going to share this special family Fall formula with you!
Zwetchgenkuchen
Measure 1-1/2 cups unbleached white flour and pour into a large bowl. Make a well in the flour.
In a small bowl, combine:
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 tablespoon organic sugar
3 tablespoons lukewarm whole milk
Blend well.
Add yeast mixture to flour well. Cover the yeast mixture with flour from the sides of the large bowl and wait about 5-10 minutes until flour begins to separate and the yeast mixture escapes.
While waiting, heat to lukewarm:
¾ cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsweetened butter
Be sure butter is melted.
Once the flour has separated, add into the large bowl:
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1 unbeaten egg
Slowly add the milk-butter mixture to the flour mixture and blend well. Consistency should be that of sweet bread dough. Add more flour as needed. Dough should not be sticky. Knead until thoroughly consistent. Roll out dough to fit evenly into a buttered 15-1/4″ x 10-1/2″ x 1″ (standard) cookie sheet.
Cut the plums in half lengthwise — you’ll need 35-40, medium-sized. Then quarter the plums, allowing the quartered sections to remain attached. Place the cut plums closely together on top of the dough.
In preheated oven, bake at 400 degrees until edge of dough is light brown for 40-45 minutes. (If plums are very juicy, place tin foil under the cookie sheet to prevent juice from overflowing.)
Remove from oven. Cool on sheet 15 minutes. Then slide cake with spatula onto a rack to cool further. Sprinkle plums generously with sugar. The sugar will combine with the plum juice, giving the cake a light glaze — Yum!
Guten Appetit!
