Autumn is our golden time! During these weeks, nature gives us its most beautiful colors and lots of ripe fruit and vegetables. Everyone has their favorite fruit, but plums are certainly at the top of most Germans’ list. The blue-purple fruits are healthy, tasty and perfect for making plum cake. Or maybe you want to make plum dumplings like in grandma’s time? The aromatic fruits are in peak season from the end of June to October. So now is the time to surprise your loved ones at home with a southern German specialty! In the following we give you 2 recipe ideas for plum cake! Once the classic recipe with yeast and then a quick recipe variant without yeast! You have the choice of how you prepare your plum cake! Here we go!
A juicy plum cake is an Augsburg specialty!
A classic plum cake smells fresh and tastes delicious!
Where does the Zwetschgendatschi come from and what does the name mean?
The juicy and delicious-tasting Zwetschgendatschi originally comes from southern Germany, more precisely, it is a culinary specialty of Augsburg. The somewhat strange-sounding name “Datschi” also comes from the word “datschen” or “detschen”, which in Bavarian usage today means something like “press something in” or “press flat”. The name is exactly right, because the Zwetschgendatschi must have a flat, thin dough base in which you place plum pieces close together and press them lightly into the dough. The dough can be prepared in the classic way with yeast. Then you have a delicious Augsburg-style plum cake that spreads a fresh scent and is sure to bring back great memories of your childhood. But there is also a second method of preparation without yeast, which you can do very quickly. Well, we also have a recipe ready for beginners in the art of baking! Both recipe ideas can be found below!
The plum cake must have a thin bottom.
A real treat in late summer and autumn!
Plum cake with yeast dough – a classic from Bavaria
Here you will find the original recipe for the Augsburg specialty. This represents a unique combination of tender yeast dough, aromatic, somewhat sour-tasting fruits and sprinkled with crunchy crumbles, if you like! Simply wonderful in taste! Such a plum cake is an unashamed part of every coffee hour in autumn, and not just in Bavaria, but throughout Germany!
What goes into the yeast dough?
Necessary ingredients for the plum cake with yeast dough
For the yeast dough you need: 500 g flour, ¾ cube of fresh yeast or a packet of dry yeast, 1 tbsp sugar, 250 ml milk, 1 pinch of salt, 175 g butter, 1 egg, the zest of half a lemon.
For covering: 1.25 kg plums, 4 tbsp ground almonds, 175 g sugar (maybe a little more if the fruit is not sweet enough), ½ tsp cinnamon.
Important tip: These quantities may vary depending on how many servings you want to make!
In four easy steps you can prepare a juicy plum cake!
How to do it!
- First prepare the yeast dough: Place the flour in a bowl, then crumble in the yeast and press into the centre. Then add a tablespoon of sugar. Heat the milk to lukewarm and pour it in. Mix well with a fork until a dough forms. Then let the pre-dough rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes.
- Add the salt, an egg, 100 g butter and grated lemon zest to the pre-dough. Place in the hand mixer and beat with the dough hook until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Then cover this dough and let it rise for another hour.
A plum cake to fall in love with!
- Prepare the topping: wash the plums, halve lengthways and stone them. Knead the dough again by hand and place on a deep greased baking sheet. You can also line the tray with parchment paper instead of greasing it. Sprinkle the ground almonds over the batter to prevent the cake crust from getting soggy! Then spread the plums close together on top and press them lightly into the dough. Cover again and let rise for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven and bake at 200°C for about 40 minutes. Mix together the remaining sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Your freshly fragrant plum cake is ready!
- Finally, let cool and serve with whipped cream, if you like! That tastes delicious!
You have to bake the datschi for about 40 minutes at 200 °C.
Plum cake with quark and oil dough! It works without yeast too!
Plum cake without yeast
If you find the classic recipe for plum cake with yeast dough too complicated, you can try the recipe without yeast. It’s much easier to replicate and doesn’t take as much time! So, your plum datchi is now on the table faster, but tastes just as delicious!
Ingredients for plum cake without yeast: 150 g quark, 1 egg, 6 tbsp oil, 4 tbsp milk, 80 g sugar, 1 tsp vanilla sugar, 1 pinch salt, 300 g flour, 1 sachet baking powder, 20 g soft butter, 1 kg plums.
Easy preparation:
- Mix the flour, egg, oil, quark, milk, salt, vanilla powder and baking powder into a dough. Roll out the dough and place on a greased baking sheet.
- Wash, quarter and stone the plums, then place them close together on the dough.
- Preheat the oven and bake the cake at 200°C for about 30 minutes. Immediately after baking, drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with a cinnamon and sugar mix. Enjoy the plum cake with whipped cream and forget to count the calories! The taste is unique!
The Augsburg specialty also tastes unique with crumbles!
This is simply part of every coffee hour in autumn!
Which recipe would you like to try now?
With or without yeast?
