I’ve really been enjoying all the fruits of summer. Besides my usual berry staples (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries), I often buy whatever fruits happen to be on sale that week. First it was cherries, then it was golden kiwis and, more recently, plums.
Plums are so delicious; I don’t think they get enough credit. Relatives of the peach and nectarine, they’re a lovely shade of purple and juicy and sweet when ripe, although they can be quite tart. When I was a child, I would sprinkle a tiny bit of salt over a freshly cut plum and they were perfection. Upon researching recipes that incorporate plums, I frequently came across a dessert called kuchen, which is simply the German word for “cake,” although a plum kuchen can sometimes mean a tart. The cake version is very similar to a coffee cake with fruit incorporated and is the ultimate breakfast or afternoon snack. Upon deciding to try my first plum kuchen, I didn’t expect to fall in love with such a simple cake. But I did. The recipe produced a very light crumb, moist from the plums and seasoned well with cinnamon and nutmeg. The sprinkling of raw sugar on top provided a nice textural crunch that put it over the edge.
This plum kuchen would taste amazing with some ice cream or whipped cream, but my favorite way of eating it is with freshly sliced plums. I’m still working on getting used to cooked fruit, and although the plums were scrumptious when baked, I loved the addition of fresh ones with each bite. Serve it this way for extra juiciness and flavor.
We ate this every morning for breakfast until it was gone – and savored every bite.
Plum Kuchen Adapted by Amrita Rawat from a recipe originally published on EpicureanMom.com
Serves 6 to 8
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ cup, plus 3 Tbsp., granulated sugar, divided
1 tsp., plus ½ Tbsp., cinnamon, divided
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup milk
3½ Tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 medium slightly firm plums, 2 cut into ½- to ¼-inch rounds (for baking), 2 left whole (served fresh on the side or for baking)
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir until well incorporated
• In a separate small bowl, stir together the eggs, milk, butter and vanilla.
• Slowly incorporate the egg mixture with the flour until just mixed.
• Grease a 9-inch round pan.
• Spoon the batter into the pan.
• Scatter the rounds from the 2 plums on top of the batter.
• Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and ½ tablespoon of cinnamon and generously sprinkle the mixture over the top.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and let cool before serving with fresh plum slices.
— Photo by Amrita Rawat
This article appears in Aug 1-31, 2011.
