German Plum Cake with Streusel
Streuselkuchen with plums
An original German plum crumble cake is a classic in late summer and autumn! My recipe is made from a simple shortcrust pastry, fresh plums and to top it off there is also wonderfully crispy, nut-free butter crumble on top.
It’s always fantastic to get the freshly baked, wonderfully smelling plum cake out of the oven!
Zwetschgenkuchen - a family thing
I still remember being sent to collect plums at my grandma’s garden in late August when I was a child. The plum tree in her garden was always lush.
When the season started, there were always many baking tins full of juicy plum cake. The plum cake in the baking tray is called “Zwetschgendatschi” in the region I grew up. It was enjoyed fresh out of the oven right away, or frozen if there was anything left over.
Today I have a recipe for you without yeast dough, but with simple shortcrust pastry and buttery sprinkles!
Fruit and yeast cakes are German trademarks, especially this plum cake. It has a certain acidity from the fruit, is not too sweet and is perfect thanks to the great sprinkles with a touch of cinnamon!
You can easily freeze this cake if there is anything left to freeze 😉
Expert Tip
The consistency of the butter is largely responsible for the structure of the crumbles. The more liquid it is, the finer the crumbles become. Mixing with butter at room temperature or even chilled butter, on the other hand, produces voluminous crumbles of a larger size.
Italian plums (also known as European plums) are best for making plum cakes. The Italian plum has an aromatic, mild to slightly sour taste. They’re best for cooking and baking because of their texture. The plums do not lose as much juice, so the cake base does not get soaked. Since I don’t always find Italian plums here in Texas (even during the season – usually from September to early October), I’ve already switched to black plums.
You’ll get the best taste when you let the cake rest overnight in the fridge. It tastes absolutely brilliant with a portion of whipped cream !!
Ingredients you need
You need these ingredients to make your German plum cake with Streusel.
Plum Cake with Streusel
An absolutely tasty fruit cake that goes well with coffee and tea! A must in the plum season!
Zwetschgenkuchen is German baking at its best!
Ingredients
Dough
- 5.3 ounces (150 grams) cake flour
- 3.5 ounces (100 grams) corn starch
- 2 teaspoon (7.5 grams) baking powder *
- 4.4 ounces (125 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 4.4 ounces (125 grams) sugar
- 0.3 ounces (8 grams) vanilla sugar **
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Filling
- 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
- 17.6 ounces (500 grams) (approximately) plums, cut in halves ***
Topping
- 5.3 ounces (150 grams) cake flour
- 3.5 ounces (100 grams) sugar
- 0.3 ounces (8 grams) vanilla sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3.5 ounces (100 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 - 390 F (190 - 200°C) top and bottom heat and grease a 26 cm springform pan.
- Sift the flour and corn starch into the bowl of the stand mixer. Then add sugar, vanilla sugar, cut butter, the egg and the lemon zest. Now knead the ingredients to a smooth and supple dough (see picture).
- Wrap the dough in a foil and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30 - 40 minutes.
- In the meantime, core the plums and cut them into halves or quarters, put aside.
- Now sift the remaining flour into a medium-sized bowl and mix with sugar, vanilla sugar and cinnamon. Add the cold butter cut into pieces and crumble into crumbles with the flour (see picture), put aside into the fridge.
- Now put the dough in the greased springform pan. I always use about 2/3 dough for the base and 1/3 for the rim. Spread the dough on the base and form a rim (see picture).
- Prick the base several times with a fork and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
- Place the prepared halved or quartered plums evenly and densely on the base (see picture).
- Then spread the prepared crumbles over the plums (see picture) and put the cake into the preheated oven for about
30 - 40 minutes **** - The plums should release juice and the crumbles should be golden yellow-brown.
- Let the cake cool down or rest until the next day.
Notes
* for Germans, it's a half package baking powder
** for Germans, it's one package vanilla sugar - if you don't have vanilla sugar, no problem you can leave it out
*** you can use sugar plums (cut in halves) or black plums (cut in quarters). I prefer black plums, they are not so sweet.
**** depending on your oven.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 12Amount Per Serving: Calories: 500Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7.6gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 92mgCarbohydrates: 71gFiber: 1.5gSugar: 33gProtein: 4.2g
Make a perfect plum cake with streusel
Follow these hints to make the best out of the recipe and enjoy an addictive cake.
Step 2
The dough should look like this.
Step 5
The Streusel (crumble) should look like this.
Step 6
This is how I put the dough in the cake springform pan.
Steps 8 and 9
This is how I put the plums and the Streusel on the dough.
FAQ
Find answers to the most common questions
Why does my crumble dough become too sticky?
When crumbling the dough, it is important that the ingredients are not rubbed or kneaded together for too long.
Otherwise, the dough will become too warm, making it sticky and mushy.
However, too short is also bad. Then it may
be that it will be a small pastry ball rather than a crumbly mass. You can first knead the ingredients with the dough
hooks in the food processor and then add a little more with your hands. The finger work results in small, fine or large thick crumbles, depending on your wishes.
German Plum Cake with Streusel Recipe Reviews
Learn what people are saying after they tried the Crumble Plum Cake
That's one of the best cakes I’ve ever had!
Thanks for this great recipe. Did it today...Yum!!