September 3rd
2009
…no matter which bakery you walk in, from August to September the Zwetschgendatschi is a staple on every counter here in Bavaria. I don’t think anybody could refuse a still warm slice of this juicy cake. Some are topped with slivered almonds and cinnamon sugar (essential when the plums lack sweetness), others add crumbles – either way, it begs to be buried under a generous dollop of whipped cream.
Our annual backyard party once again was a huge success and our neighbors have generally outdone themselves on the culinary front, yet some creations were so good, they were polished of their plates in no time. Mark’s Zwetschgendatschi was one of them and just before I had finished my slice, I asked him for the recipe. The cake was baked the day Mark’s recipe found its way into my mailbox, and then again, and again. If you can get your hands on a large bowl of fresh damson plums, this recipe is a must. No excuses accepted.
For the dough, pour flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Crumble the yeast into the well, sprinkle some sugar over it and pour enough of the lukewarm milk over it to cover the yeast evenly. Briefly stir the yeast milk, then cover the bowl with a dish towel and let the sponge rise in a warm place for 15 to 20 minutes until the first bubbles become visible.
Add the rest of the milk, the remaining sugar, butter, egg and salt. Knead the mixture with the kneading hooks of your kitchen machine (or by hand) until the dough can easily be lifted from the side of the bowl. If the dough is still very sticky, add flour by the tablespoon. Lightly dust with flour, then cover and let rise in a warm place for about an hour or until almost doubled.
Meanwhile prepare the plums: Wash, pad dry and cut them in half to remove the stone, then half again. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F) and brush a small baking sheet (~22×30 cm/~8,5×12 inches) with oil or line with parchment paper. Punch down the dough, roll out on a floured work surface until it is approximately the size of the sheet and about 0,5 cm (0,25 inch) thin. Then spread out on the baking sheet and pull into shape.
Arrange the plum quarters in slightly overlapping rows – tightly and cut side up – and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon (depending on the plums’ sweetness and your sweet-tooth-grade). Then distribute the slivered almonds evenly over the cake.
Bake in the oven (middle rack) for 25 to 30 minutes, but make sure that the bottom doesn’t get too dark (I carefully peak underneath after 20 minutes or so with a spatula). Take out, let cool and cut into square pieces. Serve with whipped cream and/or an extra pinch of cinnamon sugar.
Zwetschgendatschi
Recipe source: inspired by our neighbor Mark
Prep time: ~20 minutes, rising time: ~1 hour 15 minutes, baking time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients (yield: one small baking tray, ~22x30 cm/~8,5x12 inches):
.
275-300 g all-purpose flour, possibly a bit more
10 g fresh yeast (cake)
50 g white sugar
100 ml lukewarm milk
50 g butter (at room temperature)
1 egg (medium, at room temperature)
a pinch of salt
600-700g Zwetschgen (Italian prune plums/damson plums)
optional: 1-2 tbsp brown sugar
optional: cinnamon
50-75 g slivered almonds
serve with whipped cream and/or an extra pinch of cinnamon sugar
I ate that sort of cake many years ago in Kontanz. I love it, unfortunatly i never found the recipe, i didn't even know the name.
Ifeel happy you posted it here. Thank you, i'll do it as soon as i can get those plums.
Regards from Moira (Portugal)
[...] plums I have… Posted on September 3, 2009 by Harvey Morrell Zwetchgendatschi! Nicky gives us her version. Zwetschgenknödl on Sunday, from my Tante Lisbeth’s [...]
Looks great. But damsons are too sour - you need zwetschen, as in the picture. Not the same thing.
Hi MM, I'm not an expert in botanical questions, but if you check back with Google, Google Pictures, Wikipedia & Co, they widely seem to be considered the same thing...?
Oh my, this is absolutely perfect. I want a huge slab of this cake now. I presume I could make it with peaches and it'd be just as yummy, yes? Thanks so much for sharing!
Maggie, EatBoutique.com
Hi Maggie,
I never made it with peaches, but my grandma made it with apples or blueberries and it was delicious nevertheless... Please report back, how your peach version turns out, I'd love to know!
i love zwetschgendatschi, gonna try this on saturday!
Es geht in der Tat nichts über einen Zwetschgendatschi mit Hefeteig. Jedenfalls hier bei uns in Bayern...
Sieht sehr, sehr lecker aus. Die Fotos sind ohnhin eine Augenweide.
Vielleicht hast du auch mal Lust, diesen Zwetschgenkuchen zu probieren. Der Mürbteigboden mit den Biskuitbröseln drauf ist ein Traum.
http://webwelten.blogspot.com/2009/07/es-ist-wieder-sommer-in-der-stadt.html
Liebe Grüße
Uschi
Wow, does this look good. I always love desserts from around the world, and it looks like this one is going to have to make it's way onto my to-do list. Thanks for the great recipe!
Wow, this is just gorgeous. We have quetsches in season right now here too. I might just have to try it this weekend.
cheers,
Pim
Since we moved to Stratford I hardly find damsons for my husbands favorite cake, the Datschi. But your cake looks so good, maybe I have to look a little harder :)
My mother in law makes a good one, and was just about to ask her for recipe (but again, I have to get them translated from Deutsch to English) and fortunately, yours came at the right time. I´ve tonnes of damson left from harvesting :-) Great blog btw.
No, they aren't the same thing at all. Pim is right about quetsches. But you rarely see them in the UK or even USA,and you rarely see damsons in Germany, so this is a very common mistransltion. In the UK, Victoria plums are the nearest, but they are bigger and maybe less juicy.
See this discussion:
http://www.deutsche-in-london.net/forum/index.php?topic=32837.0
'Damsons sind aber schweinesauer und so richtig nach Zwetschen schmecken sie auch nicht. Victoria Plums kommen geschmacklich am nächsten, aber ob die sich gut backen lassen, bin ich nicht sicher.'
Recipe looks great. But you can't trust Google and Wikipedia on this one. I am worried about the people eating this made with sour damsons, inedible raw!
Here's a picture of damsons:
http://bakerina.com/bakerina/comments/its_that_time_again/
My grandma made a famous cake with damsons, I have to try your recipe for nostalgic reasons!
Stone fruits were made for cake batter. Sounds delicious!
wow that looks like my oma used to make! You totally made me go back in time! yum.
How beautiful and inspiring! I've been thinking about what to do with all of the beautiful plums that have been coming to market lately (other than the tart I always make), and now you've given me a beautiful option!
Hello!
What's your photo equipping?
Hi Herrud, You can find info an our photography equipment on our About page, FAQs.
mei, was mir die zwetschgen hier abgehen... ich haett so gern ein stueck von dem da, ich hab grad mit den vielen aepfeln von unseren baeumen einen karotten-apfel-kuchen gemacht... kann nicht ganz mithalten, sollte aber trotzdem ganz lecker sein! bussi jx
Much easier and quite tasty also my working always in a hurry mother's Schlupfkuchen:
400g flour
300g sugar
4 eggs
4 half egg shells water
half a packet of baking powder
this makes the dough (yes, no fat needed), spread onto baking tray and simply throw halved Zwetschgen on it, top with cinnamon and bake medium over for about 25 mins max.
The result explains the name.
Beautiful! I've been awfully greedy for peaches this year, so no plums yet. I'll have to pick some up the next time I see them.
Ouch, they look delicious. These stuff are hard to come by where I live.
I bought some of these "french plums" at the farmers market and was trying to find the perfect recipe for them. Thanks! The hefeteig is very similar to cinnamon roll dough here in the US, so I used it to make chestnut rouladen the next morning for a delicious breakfast. Double thanks!
Tasty! BTW, in the US, Italian plums are as close to Zwetschgen as I have been able to find...but datschi are also good with apricots.
Quetschekuche sind auch in Hessen ein Muss. Das Rezept ist fast das gleiche.
In Rheinhessen isst man die sogar zur Kartoffelsuppe.
Wir schneiden die etwas anders: bis zum Kern, öffnen, und noch mal beide hälften etwa bis zur Mitte, auffalten.
Es gibt wunderbare Zwetschgenschneider/-Entkerner, wenn man einen Baum hat und viele viele Datschis backen will nur zu empfehlen.
You can actually eat damsons raw sometimes, it depends on the variety and also the summer. I have lived in Ireland and the UK and picked and eaten damsons and in Germany and Austria and Switzerland Zwetschen (they have slightly different names in different parts of the country) . To me they seem the same.
I always thought sweetness was something to do with the heat of the continental summer. Believe me a damson from a sunny spot in South Dublin where I live now is a totally different thing than the bitter fruit we picked in West Clare when I was growing up. Damson is a catchall for a number of varieties and some are eating raw fruit.
...mmmmmh! gestern gebacken und himmlisch lecker. ich liebe deine rezepte, unkompliziert und sie gelingen wunderbar. einen unbekannten gruß an deinen nachbarn mit herzlichen dank für das rezept*
hi nicky,
i'm not even in germany and yet seeing plum cakes like this practically every food blog i read... and gosh, i love it! needless to say, yours looks fantastic! must make my own while the italian plums are around.
p.s. super excited to meet you soon!!
Ich liebe Zwetschgendatschi sehr und habe ihn endlich auch glutenfrei gebacken und er ist super gut geworden.
Wenn ihr ihn anschauen wollt hier findet ihr ihn http://www.glutenfrei-kochen.de
This looks absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Great! I just bought 2kg of it yesterday! yeah!!!And how could I resist any german cake...? I'm doing this tonight!
Wow!
Ahh, vielen Dank! Heute wollte ich sowieso Zwetschgen kaufen gehen. Morgen gibt es dann einen echten "Ligurischen Zwetschgendatschi" nach bayerischem Rezept.
Dein Zwetschgenkuchen sieht super aus. Hatte am Wochenende auch wieder ein Stückchen in Schleswig Holstein auf dem Land. Das weckt Erinnerungen an früher :-)
Mmmh, mit den Mandeln sieht der sehr verlockend aus.
Aber mit der Menge an Zwetschen würdest Du hier als "geizig" bezeichnet. Ich kenne es so, dass die Zwetschen dachziegelartig überlappend auf den Teig gelegt werden. Da braucht man dann 1,0 bis 1,2 kg pro Backblech.
In meinen persönlichen Zwetschenkuchen-Hefeteig kommt noch etwas abgeriebene Zitronenschale. Das Aroma ergänzt das Zwetschenaroma perfekt.
I am just in love with plums right now and this recipe looks scrumptious! I made a plum and peach crisp last week in an attempt to hold on to this last couple days of summer and welcome early fall here in New Jersey. Thought maybe you would be interested!
Thanks for the post. Beautiful pics as usual!
Best,
Jessica
http://www.justchowbella.com/2009/09/just-peachy-and-plummy-crisp.html
Yummy =). My husband's aunt made this almost exactly like yours when we visited her in the Rheinland-Pfalz this past summer, only minus the almonds. It was just scrumptious!
I recently made a plum cake in honor of the season, but it was Americanized - an upside-down plum cake with a buttermilk cake base. Still delicious!
[...] Der Boden ist ein Hefeteig – ich habe hier das Zwetgendatschi-Rezept übernommen: http://www.deliciousdays.com/archives/2009/09/03/zwetschgendatschi-wherever-you-go/#more-3222 [...]
You have great quality photos of your food on here. I always find your food so appealing. I will probably try this recipe later but doubt it will come out like yours.
Ian
Das hört sich großartig an (und sieht auch so aus)! Nach genau so einem Rezept habe ich gesucht. Ich hoffe, es klappt auch, wenn ich Trockenhefe nehme, aber ich werd´s auf jeden Fall ausprobieren.
Petra
wow, how did I miss this? I'm going to try to make some California-equivalent version of this cake before Sherry returns...
I love love love zwetschgendatschi! It has a special meaning for me because my grandmother always makes it when I'm visiting. For me the worlds best zwetschgendatschi - with crumbles of course.
But because I see my granny usually just ones a year I have to find some good options. So this could be one to get over the time without my grannys datschi :)
Looks great! I love your pictures.