Steemit Culinary Challenge #36 - Zwetschgendatschi, German Plum Cake (with a twist)

Food Fit for a German, you say??

Here's my entry for the 36th edition of the Steemit Culinary Challenge, hosted by healthy food lover @woman-onthe-wing and sponsored by @gringalicious, @sirwinchester, and @englishtchrivy. This week's judge, @ch00fy has a thing for German food, hence the theme "Food Fit for a German".

Hearty danke to our host, sponsors, and judge!!

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As I was thinking about what to cook up for this weeks' challenge, in the back corner of my mind I remembered an NPR story from a while back about a certain type of German cake with plums. Since it is most certainly plum season and this challenge is most certainly German, I dug around on the internet and found some recipes for this German Plum Cake, Zwetschgendatschi. It is a white cake topped with fresh juicy plums which release their juices into the cake while it is baking, resulting in a fluffy and moist cake with mellow sweet plums baked right in.

After reading around and learning more about this yummy cake, I decided to improvise and brighten up the flavors a bit.

The Zwetschgendatschi can be made with a yeast dough or a regular cake batter, but I chose the yeast dough version for extra rise. To my version of the Zwetschgendatschi, I also added lemon zest and a light lemon glaze. The combination of the tart lemon with the mellowed out sweet plums is just delightful. I also added some crumbly streusel to the top, which is found in some, but not all, Zwetschgendatschi. Also, the market had loads of fresh blackberries, so I added blackberries among the plums to add more color and fruity sweetness to the cake. Once it was all baked, I put a dollop of fresh whipped cream over the top for a smooth and light finish.

So let's get into it, shall we?

The dough

Ingredients

• 1 c milk
• 2 1/4 t yeast
• 2 eggs
• 1 T vanilla
• 1 Tcinnamon
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 T sugar
• 4 T vegetable oil (or melted butter)
• 3 c flour

Directions for the dough

A - Whisk together the yeast and the milk. Let sit for 5 minutes or until bubbles begin to form on the surface.
B and C -Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, oil, and salt to combine.
D through I - One cup at a time, whisk in the flour.

• In a stand mixer or by hand, knead the dough for about 4 minutes until it clears the sides of the bowl.

• Allow to rest at room temperature, covered with a towel, for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

I may or may not have forgotten to add the vanilla until this step. :X

• Once the dough has doubled in size, press it out into an oiled rimmed baking dish. (8x13 inches is the dish I used.)

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The toppings

Ingredients

• 5-6 plums, sliced into wedges
• 2/3 cup blackberries
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 T sugar and 1 T cinnamon, combined

Directions for the toppings

• Sprinkle the prepared dough with the cinnamon sugar mix, and then with the lemon zest.

• Arrange the plums and berries however you like. If your dish is circular, go nuts and do a spiral!

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The streusel

Ingredients

• 1 c flour
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 T vanilla
• 2T lemon juice

Directions for the streusel

• Mash it all up with your hands until it's crumbly. That's how you prepare streusel!

• Distribute the streusel over the top of the plums and blackberries.
• Allow the entire thing to rise again on the counter for 1 hour.

• Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

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The lemon glaze

Ingredients

• juice of half a lemon
• 1 cup powdered sugar, or more to reach desired consistency
• 1 t vanilla

Directions for the lemon glaze

• Using a fork or a whisk, combine all ingredients until the glaze is runny but not too loose. It's going to be drippy and that's ok. Just give it a taste and if it's too tart and too runny, add more powdered sugar.

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Once your Zwetschgendatschi is finished baking, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool. Step back and allow it to cool!!!

• At this point, once the zwetschgendatschi is cool, you can pour on some glaze and dig in!

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Or, you can be brave and dollop on some fluffy whipped cream to turn this cake into an extra special treat!

Here's how to whip up the whipped cream!

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 T sugar

Directions

• Whip it. And whip it good.
• Don't whip it too good or you'll end up with butter.

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Zwetschgendatschi. I may not be able to pronounce it, but I can sure put it away. (In my belly).

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Thanks again to our host, sponsors, and judge! Also, note that I got ahead of myself and listed this as #37 challenge on my index card! Oopsy daisy!

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Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please do check out my blog.

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All content and photos by @jaymorebeet, taken on July 31, 2017, using a Canon EOS 7D Mark II.