Kuchen is how you say cake in German. The beauty of this kuchen recipe is that you can swap out the plums for pretty much any fruit you have on hand. This is also a great way to use up all that overly ripe fruit we find ourselves drowning in at the end of summer. The sweet and tender plums in this recipe play off the tangy ginger in the cake and create a perfectly balanced pastry. This is one of those anytime/anywhere kind of desserts- great for a morning coffee cake, an afternoon snack or served warm with ice cream for an evening sweet.
Bowl #1
113 grams butter, softened
175 grams granulated sugar
Bowl #2
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Bowl #3
160 grams all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons dry milk powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
On the sidelines:
2 ripe plums, pitted and sliced thin
Demerara sugar
1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan.
2
In the first bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for five minutes.
3
Add the second bowl to the first bowl and continue to cream for a few more minutes.
4
Whisk together the dry ingredients in the third bowl and add into the first bowl. Mix until just combined.
5
Spread the cake batter evenly in the prepared cake pan.
6
Place the sliced plums on top of the cake batter in any pattern you like. Sprinkle the plums with one or two tablespoons of demerera sugar.
7
Bake until the cake is set and a cake tester comes out clean about 40 minutes. Let cool.
