Every year I could tell when fall was approaching. It was the time when my aunt in Germany was surprising us with her delicious Zwetschgendatschi! I loved this time of the year when the weather was still so pleasant that we could enjoy sitting outside in the garden. The whole family would gather in the afternoons on weekends and my aunt, the ‘baker’ in the family, dazzled us with all kinds of delicacies. My favorite was for sure her Zwetschgendatschi!
Originally she would make it with a Mürbteig (shortcrust dough), but last year I shared a recipe that uses a regular cake base, which turns out to be very tasty as well. Besides it has ‘Streusel’, which I love! Find it here.
Now this year upon finding some Italian prune plums at Costco, I thought of giving my beloved pie a little twist.
For everyone including my family here in California, who like plums but who feel a bit overwhelmed by the predominantly pure fruit flavor and who prefer something more cake-like, the following recipe might hit the spot. It’s absolutely quick and easy, thanks to Trader Joe’s vanilla cake mix!
So, here we go:
Ingredients:
About 2 pounds of Italian prune plums; 2-3 tbsp sugar; 1 box Trader Joe’s Cake mix; 1 cup milk; 1 cup water; 2 eggs; 1 stick melted butter; 3 tbsp rum; 2 tbsp of almond flour (if on hand); 1 tsp cinnamon (or to taste); butter to grease the bottom of a 9×13 pan.
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Grease a 9×13 pan and prepare the prunes by washing and quartering them. If you have one of these helpful kitchen tools, a plum seeder (Zwetschgen-Entkerner), this is done very quickly.
3. Place all the quartered prune plums in rows in the greased pan, and top with about 2-3 tbsp of sugar and 2tbsp almond flour (as desired).
4. In a separate bowl prepare the Trader Joe’s Vanilla cake mix as described on the box. Once all the ingredients are all whisked together smoothly, mix 3 tbsp of rum under the dough.
5. Thoroughly cover the plums with the cake mix, even out the surface and sprinkle 1 tsp cinnamon over it as you desire. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Voilà – your Zwetschgenkuchen/ plumcake is ready !
Extra tip: If you desire more plum flavor, add another layer of fresh plums to the first one! Just use half of the cake mix to cover the first layer of plums then repeat step 3 and cover with the rest of the cake mix. Finish with step 5.
Bon appétit !
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Images: ©CaliforniaGermans.com
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