German Plum Tart Recipes

ORIGINAL PLUM TORTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.
• Spoon the batter into a springform pan of 8, 9 or 10 inches. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.
• Bake 1 hour, approximately. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream. (To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.)

GERMAN PLUM CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, add the sugar, vanilla, egg, lemon peel, sour cream and salt (if desired).
• Mix the flour and baking powder and add that into the mixture.
• Grease the base of a round baking pan and spread the dough over the pan.
• Liberally spread plums over the dough.
• To make the optional topping, cream the butter, add flour, sugar and cinnamon.
• Sprinkle over the plums and bake for 30-45 minutes in the middle rack at 375 F.
• Be careful not to let the bottom burn!
• Serve with lots of freshly-made whipped cream.
• If you like, you may also sprinkle rum or cinnamon over the fruit before baking.

PLUM TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolk. Mix, either by hand or with an electric mixer, until crumbly.
• Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan. Arrange the plums in the pan, skin side down, to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in.
• Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums. Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

GERMAN PLUM TART

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cream butter and 3 tablespoons sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk. Gradually add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until mixture forms a soft dough. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-in. pie plate., Arrange plums, skin side up with edges overlapping, in crust; sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and fruit is tender.

GERMAN PLUM CAKE (PFLAUMENKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Lightly butter an 8x8 inch (20x20cm) baking dish or tin. Mix together the dry ingredients for the base - flour, sugar, yeast and salt - in a medium bowl.
• Put the butter and milk into a small microwavable dish and warm in 15 second intervals to gently warm the milk and melt the butter. The butter should be just melting and the milk lukewarm. Add this mixture (left to cool first, if too warm), the egg yolk and the vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix all together.
• Knead the dough gently for a minute or two - it should be soft but not wet so add a little more flour if too wet, or milk if it seems to crumble from being dry. Then, press the dough into the buttered baking dish. Press it right to the corners, flat across the bottom then slightly up at the edges.
• Cut the plums in half, along the bit that looks like a seam, then remove the stone. Cut each plum half in half. Arrange the plum quarters over the base as tightly as you can, ideally in rows, cut side up. Leave the dish at warm room temperature to let the dough rise slightly for approximately 1 hour (don't worry if it doesn't obviously change much).
• As the rest time is about done, preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Sprinkle the 1/2tbsp of sugar over the plums, if using.
• Rub together the flour, cinnamon, butter and sugar for the streusel then sprinkle it evenly over the plums.
• Bake the cake for approximately 30 -35 minutes, until the top is gently starting to brown and you can see the plums have softened underneath. Let the cake rest for around 10 minutes before cutting into slices. Works well as it is, both warm or at room temperature, as well as with cream.

PFLAUMENKUCHEN (GERMAN PLUM TART)

Steps:

• In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Cut in cold butter and and work with the fingers for the pie crust until the butter is the size of peas.
• Stir in sugar and the beaten egg.
• Stir with a fork until mixture gathers together. Chill 15 minutes in the freezer.
• Using a piece of wax paper to prevent the dough from sticking to the hands, press onto the bottom and sides of a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
• Wash, dry, halve lengthwise, and stone the plums. Stand them on edge in rows very close together on the pastry.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool, then cover with sifted powdered sugar.

ZWETSCHEKUCHEN (GERMAN PLUM TART)

Steps:

• Place the flour, 1 1/3 cup of sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon, and butter into the work bowl of a food processor, and process until the mixture turns grainy. Stop the machine, add eggs and egg yolks, and process in the machine until the mixture gathers itself up into one dough ball. If the dough doesn't ball up, stop the machine, sprinkle several drops of water onto the dough, and process again. Place the dough into a covered container and refrigerate at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
• The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes to warm up.
• Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to make a 9 1/2-inch circle. Dough will be rich and sticky. Scrape up the dough circle, and press into a 9-inch pie dish. Quarter and slice the plums, and place skin sides down onto the dough in a neat ring, starting at the outer edge and working in a neat row towards the center.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the plums are bubbling hot and the crust starts to brown, about 45 minutes.
• Allow the tart to cool, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar before serving.

THE PERFECT SWISS PLUM TART, AKA, ZWETGSCHENWäHE

Steps:

• Cut the butter into small chunks and place it in the cooler. Mix flour and salt, add butter, and mix until butter is evenly incorporated. Do not knead like bread dough, just use your fingertips. Otherwise, the butter will get too soft.
• Add water and form a dough. Push the dough together, do not knead. Form into a ball. Wrap, place on a plate and refrigerate until chilled.
• Dust your work table with a little flour, roll chilled dough into a disk of about 12 inches for your 9-inch tart form.
• Butter the quiche form well, including the rim. To move the dough into the tart form, fold the dough into quarters and lift it into the pan. After unfolding the dough and pressing it in and shaping the edge, prick it all over with a fork and flute the dough with your fingers. Remove any excess dough that overlaps the quiche form with a knife.
• Wash plums and cut in half, remove pit and cut plums into quarters. Sprinkle the almond meal over the bottom of the dough and fan plums over the dough. Sprinkle plums with sugar.
• Whip half and half, milk, sugar, and corn starch with egg until well blended. Pour over plums. Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes on the lowest shelf in your oven

PLUM TART

Steps:

• How To Make The Crust:
• In a food processor: Mix flour, sugar and salt together and place in the food processor. Add cold butter cut into small cubes and pulse a few times until you obtain a mixture that resembles sand or bread crumbs. Do not overmix. Add lemon zest, vanilla extract, the egg and water, one tablespoon at a time pulsing a few times until the mixture holds together.
• By hand: Mix flour, sugar and salt together, then cut the cold butter into small cubes and add it to the flour. Use a pastry tool to incorporate the butter into the flour, or use your fingertips. You should have a mixture that resembles sand or bread crumbs. Add lemon zest, vanilla extract, the egg and water, one tablespoon at a time until the mixture holds together.
• Make the dough into a disk, wrap it and place it in the refrigerator for an hour.
• Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
• How To Make The Plum Layer:
• Slice the plums in half and remove the stone, then cut each half into 4-5 slices. If you can't remove the stone, just carefully cut around it.
• Set aside.
• How To Make The Custard:
• Mix flour, sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Separately beat together the egg with milk and sour cream. Pour the liquid over the flour mixture and mix well. Set aside.
• How To Assemble The Plum Tart:
• Butter the bottom of a 9 inch pie or tart pan.
• Lightly dust your work surface with flour.
• Roll out dough on floured board to a 12 inch size. This will fit in a 9 inch pan. Trim away excess.
• Sprinkle walnuts on the dough.
• Arrange the slices of plums in circle.
• Pour over the plums the custard mixture. Add the little cubes of butter on top of the tart.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes until the pastry is golden, the fruit tender and the custard set.