Zwetschgenkuchen (German plum cake)

Zwetschgenkuchen (German plum cake)

This is a recipe for Zwetchgenkuchen, a plum cake baked in Germany and Austria. What can you expect? A fruity sheet cake richly topped with streusel! Poppy seeds and a pinch of cinnamon add a flavorful hint.

Course Sweet Pastry

Cuisine Austrian, German

Keyword Fruit cake

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 5

Servings

Calories 279kcal

Author Petra Kupská

Ingredients

Batter:

3 cups all-purpose flour (390 g)
½ Tablespoon baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
½ cup cooking oil (120 ml) sunflower oil or Canola
1 cup milk (240 ml) lukewarm
3 eggs

Plum layer:

2 pounds Italian plums (900 g) fresh
½ teaspoon cinnamon ground
3 Tablespoons poppy seed ground

Streusel topping:

¾ cup all-purpose flour (100 g)
⅔ cup granulated sugar (130 g)
¾ stick unsalted butter (80 g)

Misc.:

1 Tablespoon butter to grease baking dish
2 Tablespoons sifted breadcrumbs or flour to dust baking dish

Instructions

BEFORE BAKING: Turn the oven on to 340°F (170 °C). Grease a baking tray with butter and dust with finely sifted breadcrumbs or flour.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add lukewarm milk, oil, and sugar. Crack the whole eggs into the bowl. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat until you have batter that is ready to pour.
Pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and smooth the surface with a spatula.
Now top the batter with halved plums (cut side up). Finely dust the plums with cinnamon and ground poppy seeds.
In a bowl, combine butter, flour, and sugar to make the streusel. Spread the crumbles over the cake.
Place the cake in your preheated oven. It will be ready in about 45 minutes.

Notes

SERVING: Take the baked cake out of the oven and let it cool. Cut into approximately 3x3 inches (8x8 cm) slices and serve on a dessert plate.
Always place the plums on the batter with the cut side up. This keeps the juices out of the batter and makes the cake look spectacular on the cut side; the plums make nice curves or waves.
I grind my poppy seeds in an electric coffee grinder in just the amount I need. That way, I always have fresh poppy seeds on hand.
Europeans bake classic cakes on a rectangular baking sheet. The finished cake is then cut into slices. For this plum cake, I used a rectangular baking pan of 17x12 inches (42 x 30 cm).

Nutrition