Austrian Plum Cake Recipes

PLUM CAKE RECIPE (AUSTRIAN GERMAN PFLAUMENKUCHEN OR ZWETSCHGENKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 10 inch springform pan and set aside.
• Wash and halve the plums, remove the pits and cut into wedges.
• Whisk the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until the mixture is creamy.
• Add the eggs one by one while continuing to whisk and whisk until airy.
• Sift the flour, mix with baking soda and salt and gradually fold it into the batter by hand, using a spatula or wooden spoon. Do not over mix.
• Transfer the batter to the springform pan. Smooth it out with the spatula or back of spoon and arrange the plum slices on top in a concentric pattern, beginning at the center and working your way towards the circumference.***
• Bake for 50 minutes. Remove the cake from oven and let cool down a few minutes before taking out of the springform. Dust the plum cake with powdered sugar (optional).

AUSTRIAN PLUM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Set your baking rack on the middle shelf in the oven. Prepare a springform pan for your cake by lightly spraying it with an oil spray and then dusting the pan with flour (tapping off the excess).
• Combine the dry ingredients (flour, 1/2 C. sugar, baking powder, salt) in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix briefly. Keep your mixer running and add the butter one piece at a time. Continue to mix the ingredients until the flour takes on the consistency of moist sand. This will take 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk to the flour. Add the vanilla. Beat this mixture at medium-high speed until it is pale and fluffy. This will take about 1 minute. You can scrape down the sides of the bowl as you are doing this to be sure that you are incorporating all the ingredients.
• Spread the batter across the bottom of your prepared springform pan using an offset spatula. Then, arrange the sliced plums in concentric circles across the top of the batter. The cut sides of the plums should face up. Sprinkle the remaining 2 T. sugar on top of the cake and put the cake into the oven to bake. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. The original recipe called for baking the cake about 1 to 1 1/4 hours but my cake was perfectly done after one hour. Remove the baked cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes, after which you can remove the sides of the springform pan.
• Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.

ZWETSCHGENDATSCHI (GERMAN PLUM SHEET CAKE)

Steps:

• Combine flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix in 1 cup sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt. Add 1 1/3 cups butter and eggs. Knead everything into a smooth dough. Shape dough into a ball, press flat, cover, and chill in the refrigerator 1 hour to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet with butter.
• Cut halved plums in half again, without cutting all the way through, so they fan out.
• Roll pastry dough out on a lightly floured work surface. Line the bottom and sides of the prepared baking sheet with dough. Mix 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.
• Arrange plums side by side on the pastry dough; very small plums should overlap. Dot plums with 2 tablespoons butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and almonds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pastry crust is lightly browned, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow plum cake to cool, then cut into squares. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.

PLUM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-by-2-inch or a 9-inch cake pan and line bottom with a round of parchment. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated; beat in vanilla and lemon zest. Beat in half the flour mixture, then sour cream. Add remaining flour mixture; mix just until combined.
• Spread batter into pan and smooth top with a knife. In a bowl, toss plums with 2 tablespoons flour and sprinkle over batter.
• Bake until cake is golden, about 30 minutes; loosely tent with foil and bake until cake pulls away from side of pan and a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes more. Let cake cool completely in pan. Run knife around cake edge and remove cake from pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

VIENNESE PLUM CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well., Transfer to a greased 9-in. square baking dish. Top with plums. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over plums., For topping, in a small bowl, combine flour and sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in walnuts if desired. Sprinkle over top., Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until topping is golden brown and plums are tender. Cool on a wire rack.