So what is Zwetschgenkuchen? And how do you pronounce it? I never say it right, but I guess you would say tsvetch-gen-kuchen. If you really can’t say it, just call it a plum cake, or a plum kuchen. Basically, it is the #1 dish that my father-in-law asks me to bake for him when I come over. Everyone else is allowed to have some…if they can get to it before it’s all eaten up! It is a traditional German plum cake that Justin’s family grew up eating and it makes me feel so happy to make it for them now. I may not be German, but I have mentioned before that I married in to a very traditional Jewish-German family with a lot of wonderful traditions, and eating is one of them! I have made this cake so many times before, but now I have the opportunity to share it with everyone and I am so excited to give you this recipe. I encourage you to try it for your family!
Zwetschgenkuchen
1/2 cup margarine, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp almond extract (I use Disaronno)
a large bag of purple Italian plums, cut in to wedges
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
This is such a simple recipe and the flavor is huge! I started by mixing the margarine and 1/2 cup of sugar. I added the eggs and mixed again. Separately, I mixed together the flour, baking powder, salt and Disaronno.
I then added the flour mixture to the margarine mixture.
I prepared a pan with cooking spray and poured the thick batter in. I spread it out to make it even. I think you can really use any size pan, to be honest. The larger the pan, the thinner the cake will be. I prefer a thinner cake so I went with a larger pan. You do what you think will taste the best for you.
I sat down at the kitchen table and began cutting the plums. This can take a few minutes since you first have to remove the put, but it is so worth it! Normally, Justin and I cut the plums together and it’s actually a lot of fun. Justin doesn’t usually do much in the kitchen besides help me with making eggs and washing dishes, which I have no complaints about, but it is nice to see him get hands-on with the food once in a while.
This is where you can have a lot of fun and even get the kids involved! I layered the plum wedges on top of the batter in a pretty pattern. You can use whatever pattern you want, or no pattern at all. I then mixed together the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkled it over the plums.
I baked the cake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes and it was ready to eat!
I actually prefer the kuchen room temperature, but it is delicious however you want to eat it! See, I told you. It is so simple to make. You can try other fruits as well, although I don’t know what you would call them in German.
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