Plum Kuchen

A few things have been kept under raps in these parts.

First off, Lasse’s taking his very first trip to America in exactly a week! The Land of the Free better brace itself for a whole lot of cuteness. And chubbiness. At just 7 months, he’s known to overtake 2 year olds in weight, diaper size, and appetite.

Secondly, my instant coffee drinking habbit. But we won’t get into that right now.

And lastly, the topic of my German roots. The roots most often forgotten, shunned, and questioned. Ok, not really. But the fact of the matter is, I am a little German. About a quarter or so. My great grandfather was named Adolf and I love bratwursts and sauerkraut. So although this tends to be an American/Scandinavian food blog, there’s really no reason to keep any of my German recipes to myself. Not this one or the other one…

Seeing how this is a baking-oriented site and I’ve just got back from a fall fruit picking trip with a crate full of delicious, ripe apples and plums, today’s recipe will not include things like; strawberries, currants, citrus, or chocolate. But it will include: flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. And really now, what’s a kuchen without all of those?

Plum Kuchen. German plum cake. Or perhaps more accurately, German-American plum cake. Moist, loaded with fruit, perfectly sweet, enriched with sour cream and just a hint of cinnamon, vanilla, and almond. Some might even say it’s…wunderbar.

 

Plum Kuchen

Tysk plommekake

Adapted slightly from this Bon Appétit recipe from Oct.’97

*makes 12 servings

 

5 large or 8-10 small plums, halved and pitted

1 1/2 cups (210 g) All-Purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoons ground cinnamon (+ more for sprinkling top of cake)

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stk/115 g) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar (130 g) (+ about 1/4 cup more for sprinkling top of cake)

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup (120 ml) sour cream

 

1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Butter a 13 x 9 x 2-inch (33 x 23 x 5-cm) baking pan.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into small bowl.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat 6 tablespoons butter with 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then extracts.
4. Beat dry ingredients into wet ingredients in 3 additions. Fold in the sour cream, then spread batter into pan.
5. Arrange plum halves in 4 long rows atop batter. Sprinkle a little extra cinnamon (about 1/2 teaspoon) and the extra 1/4 sugar over plums. Melt 2 tablespoons butter. Drizzle over kuchen.
6. Bake kuchen until a tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer pan to rack and cool until just warm, about 30 minutes, or to room temperature. Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar- it’s great with a little vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on the side. *Although this cake smells wonderful warm coming out of the oven, I think it actually tastes best at room temperature.

Comments

[Rachel Larson]

Actually, the Adolph was a Norwegian. Who knew? Kuchen looks yummy!

[Sassy Molassy]

Are you running the marathon when you're home or am I delusional? Have a great trip to the US of A!

[siri]

Lauren- Delusional indeed. Only kidding. I did, in fact, tell you I would be running it, but that was back in January and, ugh, things have changed since then.

[D. @ Outside Oslo]

Looks like a delicious recipe, just the thing to do with the last of the summer plums.

[Megan @ FeastingonArt]

This looks like such a delicious recipe. I always love your landscape photographs!

[A Little Yumminess]

What a beautiful cake...makes me want to throw a tea party