Where the precarious path to Domestic Goddess status is paved with fire…
Mum rang excitedly to pass on this recipe with one warning. In her enthusiasm to recreate the German Plum Cake, she overlooked an important detail: Too much batter + too small pan = charcoal oven. There’s nothing like getting on your hands and knees to scrub charred splodges of batter off the floor of your oven.
My sister, however, takes the cake for kitchen mishaps. A lesson was learned the day she tried to hard-boil an egg in the microwave. Egg + microwave = KABOOM. She also set fire to an oven mitt in a separate incident.
Speaking of fire, Mum also learned that nonstick spray + gas hotplate = no eyebrows.
And now that I think of it, my brother learned nodding off while heating a midnight snack in the oven equals a house filled with smoke at 3am and one very charred Apple Pie. We’re a special family as you can see.
I fear this kitchen fire gene is alive and well in myself so every recipe is prepared with precision. And with the fire brigade on speed dial. I’ve managed to leave hotplates on all night at least twice, so it’s only a matter of time. I set fire to a saucepan since saving a draft of this post. For shame.
Since this German Plum Cake consists of three layers, it is important to follow the ingredients to the letter to prevent batter overflow. Just make sure the rich butter cake batter takes up no more than half of the pan, and you’ll be fine. A layer of almondmeal is sprinkled on top, then sweet black plums are layered on and brushed with a cinnamon butter and egg glaze. I strongly recommend sourcing ripe black plums, as other varieties can prove too tart for the cake.
Now excuse me while I invest in a fire extinguisher…
PLUM CINNAMON AND ALMOND CAKE
“Mieze’s Plum Cake”
Serves 8-12
You Will Need:
140g Unsalted Butter, room temperature
125g Caster Sugar
100g Plain Flour
100g Self Raising Flour
1 pinch salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
70ml Milk
1/2 cup Almondmeal
10 small ripe black plums, halved and stoned
Topping:
100g Caster Sugar
60g Unsalted Butter, melted
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
2 large Eggs
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 23cm springform cake tin (or regular round cake tin) with non-stick spray. Don’t squish the cake into a smaller tin, because it rises and will spill sticky stuff all through your oven (as my Mum did the first time she baked this!).
Using a handbeater or electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Stir in the flour and salt, beaten eggs and milk until a smooth batter forms. It should easily drop from a spoon. If a little thick, just add more milk. Spoon the batter into the cake tin. Sprinkle the almond meal over the top. Place the plum halves cut side up over the almondmeal in a circle pattern.
Melt the topping butter and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Allow to cool, then whisk in the eggs. Spoon the topping mix over the plums. Bake for 50 minutes approximately. The topping will go nice and brown in the oven. Use a skewer test to make sure the cake layer underneath is fully cooked.
Can serve warm with cream, custard or ice-cream. Also tastes fabulous at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
