As promised last week, I wanted to share the recipe for the German plum cake with you. I feel like plums or Zwetschgen, as they’re called in German, are not on a lot of people’s radar, especially for baking. And you guys, we need to change this because OMG, baked plums are so freakin’ good. And this sheet cake is so easy to make – if you can find the right plums, that is.
You need Italian (Empress) plums for this cake. They’re a little smaller, have an oblong shape, and dark purple skin. They’re sweet, sometimes a little tart, and get a deeper flavor when baked. They’re usually in season for a few weeks in the late summer/early fall and your best bet is finding them at the local Farmer’s Market.
There are many popular recipes for this type of cake with different kind of cake bases (e.g. quark-oil dough or shortcake), but my family prefers a yeast-based cake. Lots of people shy away from yeast dough, but I feel like it’s one of the easiest doughs to prepare. You just need a little time and patience.
INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
- 2 kg (about 4 pounds) Italian (Empress) plums, cut into quarters, pits removed
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) warm milk or milk substitute (I used soy)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dry active yeast
- 500g (4 cups) bread or pastry flour
- 150g (3/4 cup) sugar
- 1 sleeve vanilla sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 113g (1 stick) unsalted butter (1/2 cup melted but not hot)
- 2 eggs
For the streusel:
- 125g (1 cup) bread or pastry flour
- 200g (1 cup) sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 113g (1 stick = 1/2 cup) butter at room temperature
INSTRUCTIONS
- Stir the yeast in the 3/4 cup of warm milk and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until dissolved and frothy.
- Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and pour in the yeast mixture, melted warm butter, eggs and vanilla extract. Use a dough hook and knead the dough on slow for 4-5 minutes, adding a little extra milk if necessary. (The dough should be sticky but hold together fairly well. Cover it loosely with plastic wrap and set it in a warm, draft free place to rise for an hour or until about doubled in size.)
- Grease a large, deep baking pan (at least 18 inches in length and 1 inch deep) with butter or baking spray.
- Use your hands to spread the dough out across the full length of the pan, pressing it up against the sides. Lay the plums tightly in rows over the whole length of the dough on the sheet pan.
- Let the cake rest and rise for about another hour.
- To make the streusel: Place all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and use your fingers to bring it all together. Work with the mixture until it’s thoroughly combined and forms a rough sand and clumpy texture. Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the cake.
- Bake the cake on the middle rack of the preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden.
- Let the cake sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing to let some of the liquid set. Slice the cake into squares and serve.
NOTES
*This sheet streusel cake holds up well for a day or two and you can easily freeze it by the slice, too. Take it out for a few hours to defrost and heat up in the microwave for a half minute.
* * *
Let me know if you try this and how you liked it. Jon is a big fan!
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
September 28, 2021 at 7:17 amThis looks delicious and BEAUTIFUL!! I love streusel type of dessert so this would be right up my alley!
San
September 28, 2021 at 9:11 amThank you – it was so good. Anything with streusel is a winner in my book :)
Divya
September 29, 2021 at 4:43 amOmg! I think I have those plums in my fridge! We went to the farmers market yesterday and I got a mixed basket, which included I thought only grapes and apples and when I peeked in the bag, I saw those things and thought, “Woah, those are some big grapes.”
Ha. How silly. Clearly I haven’t seen these types of plums before! Now I’m excited to try them!
San
September 29, 2021 at 8:10 amOh, perfect. I am glad you’ll get to taste them!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
October 3, 2021 at 1:28 amThat is exactly how you make it. I can taste it and I am sad I missed making one this year. Or better have a piece from moms cake. Streusel sheet cake is the best – it really doesn’t matter what you put on: cherries, plums, apples, gooseberries… Maybe I make an apple one next weekend.
Anthea
October 5, 2021 at 12:08 amThis looks and sounds so delicious! I love plums – my Gran used to have a plum tree so it is a fruit that always brings back happy memories.
San
October 5, 2021 at 9:50 amOh, how sweet… :)
Anne
October 7, 2021 at 2:07 pmThis is beautiful and I imagine it tastes wonderful, but a) no shared food yet at work, and b) it’s too big for just me, not to mention c) I’m terrified of yeast. I’ll just admire from afar, thanks! :)
San
October 7, 2021 at 3:44 pmNo! Why are you scared of yeast??
anne
October 8, 2021 at 2:45 pmI think it’s due to multiple failures in the past (likely expired yeast, to be honest), the need to knead (ha) and, well, just general inexperience. I know doing more would likely help but I’m reluctant to tackle my fear of yeast for some reason. ;)
San
October 9, 2021 at 12:49 pmI want to come over and bake with you, so you lose your fear of yeast. LOL
anne
October 10, 2021 at 5:42 amA yeast baking support group? Maybe that is what I need! (Not to mention the product would also be pretty nice… :>)
Suzanne
August 26, 2022 at 6:21 amOh my gosh, this is STUNNING.