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Austrian Plum Cake (Zwetschgenkuchen)

8 Servings

1½ hours 10 minutes active

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This simple cake showcases tangy-sweet summertime plums. Both red and black varieties works beautifully. Just make sure to choose ripe, medium plums that still have a little firmness; soft, ultra-juicy fruits will make the center of the cake wet and soggy. Italian prune plums are great, too; use the same weight. But since they are small, cut them into halves instead of quarters. Ripe but firm pluots, a plum-apricot hybrid, are another excellent alternative. The flavor and texture of this cake are best the day of baking, but leftovers can be stored overnight in an airtight container at room temperature.

8

Servings

Tip

Don't forget to allow time for the butter to soften. Cold, firm butter won't blend well into the dry ingredients. And don’t underbake this cake; the plums let off a lot of juice that slows down the baking, especially at the center. When testing for doneness, make sure there are no moist crumbs clinging to the toothpick.

1½ hours

10 minutes active

Ingredients

  • 130

    grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

  • 107

    grams (½ cup) white sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling

Directions

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Reviews
JAMES M.
June 14, 2023
Great recipe for stone fruit
I've made this a few times, with plums, apricots, and pluots, depending on availability. Not sure about the listed baking time. 40-45 minutes has been the ideal baking time for golden brown and clean toothpick. I've also made it in my Breville toaster oven, also came out great!
Tyler B.
June 27, 2022
Totally awesome
Beautiful summertime dessert to showcase seasonal stonefruit. I used yellow, red and purple plums to create a cascade. Beautiful and impressive.
Kenneth N M.

Do you think this would work with peaches?

Janelle C.

Hi Kenneth,

You should be able to make this swap without changing much, but the same goes for peaches as for plums, make sure to choose ripe but firm, medium peaches.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Kayleigh B.

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Dominic D.

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Jennifer B.

This is such a great recipe to use up plums. Just had a slice with a side of whipped cream. Will definitely make again. I think it would be good with apples and some cinnamon too.

Larry F.

Wow, this was a simple but elegant cake! I say it is worthy of serving to house guests. The tricky part is getting plums that right sweetness. Plums are in season now, but the ones we got were a bit on the tart side, but little whip cream topping sweetened it right up. I had 8" springform and 10", so I used the 8" springform, I'm glad I did. I tried this with peaches a few days later using a 10" springform and found it was bid too flat, 8" or 9" is the way to go. As far as peaches go, it worked. I used a little brown sugar and cinnamon on peaches, the peach had nice caramelization to them. The cake looks beautiful, I will be proud to serve it or bring it to someone's diner party.