Plum cake (zwetschgenkuchen)

This tray-baked cake is believed to have originated in Augsburg in the south-west of Bavaria and is popular in late-summer during the damson plum harvest. It is often enjoyed with afternoon coffee.

Credit: John Laurie

• serves

  15

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  50 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

7 g sachet dried yeast

250 ml (1 cup) lukewarm milk

500 g plain flour

110 g (½ cup) caster sugar

¼ tsp salt

125 g unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 x 825 g cans whole plums, drained, deseeded, halved

icing sugar and pouring cream, to serve

Streusel topping

60 g unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature

55 g (¼ cup) caster sugar

150 g (1 cup) plain flour

Standing time: 1 hr 40 minutes

Instructions

Combine yeast, 125 ml milk, 2 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp sugar in a small bowl. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 10 minutes or until mixture bubbles.

Combine remaining 470g flour, 2 tbsp sugar and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in yeast mixture, softened butter, egg and remaining 125 ml milk, and stir until mixture forms a soft dough. Using an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, knead dough for 4 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a large greased bowl and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 1 hour or until dough doubles in size.

Punch down dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 20 cm x 30 cm rectangle. Place in a greased 21 cm x 31 cm slab pan, cover, and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 30 minutes or until dough has almost doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 190°C. To make streusel topping, place all ingredients in a bowl and rub in butter until mixture starts to form a crumbly dough.

Arrange plums, cut-side up, over the top of the dough and scatter with remaining sugar, then streusel topping. Bake for 50 minutes or until top is golden and a skewer inserted into the base comes out clean. Serve dusted with icing sugar and drizzled with cream.

DRINK Rumball SB18 Sparkling Shiraz, Coonawarra ($22)

As seen in Feast magazine, Issue 11, pg76.

Photography by John Laurie.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.