Old European Plum Cake

Marye Audet — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:36:27 +0000

Well, Pat and Andrea came through for me, and after much deliberation have decided to share their recipe for plum cake.

My European readers will be thrilled because the measurements are in grams.

This is not a sweet cake. We were talking about how Europeans generally use much less sweetening that Americans do. In fact, we had this for breakfast and it was perfect. Andrea says that you absolutely MUST use the Italian prune plums that are available (in our area at least) only during the first part of October.. So don’t wait too long to try this recipe out!

I have shamelessly pasted it just the way that they sent it to me…because…well…I can. I did make two small changes. I specified unsalted butter, and I took out the reference to the ability to substitute margarine for butter…Don’t do it. Margarine is…the DEVIL I tell ya…bad, bad, bad for you.

Andrea and Pat’s OLD EUROPEAN STYLE PLUM CAKE
* Sieve 500 grams flour into a mixing bow. Preferably flour types: High Altitude Hungarian Flour ®, or Gold Medal All Purpose ®.
* Add 1 packet dried yeast and mix carefully with the flour
* Add 75 grams sugar
* Add 1 packet of vanilla sugar, or 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
* Pinch of salt
* 250 ml (1/4 liter) lukewarm milk
* 75-100 grams melted, or cool unsalted butter
Directions
Mix the ingredients for a moment, using the kneading attachment on an electric mixer and a low setting. Switch to high and knead thoroughly for 5 minutes. If the dough is sticky, add a little extra flour (just a little as the dough should remain soft).
Cover the dough and leave to rise in a warm place until it is well risen. Remove the risen dough from the bowl and knead it thoroughly on a work surface. (In the unlikely event that the dough seems overly firm, pick it up and body slam it! Really, I mean slam it on the work surface!) Afterwards, roll the dough out on a greased baking sheet.
* 3 kg (3-4 lbs) of Italian Plums – wash, drain, dry and stone (do not cut through the plums, you want them to fan)
* Arrange the plums like scales on the dough, with the cut surfaces facing upwards. (The plums should be arranged tightly where little dough is visible.)
* Leave the dough in a warm place until it is well risen.

Baking
Electric

Conventional:200-225 Celsius (400-450˚ F) [preheated]
Convection<170 Celsius (350˚F) [cold]
Gas4-5 [preheated]
Baking Time:20-30 minutes (ovens vary; baking may require up to 50 minutes)
POI: Plums will emit juices that will cover the dough
Allow the cake to cool off before serving
Special Ingredients:Serve with a sprinkle of sugar

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Images:Marye Audet

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Old European Plum Cake