Pflaumenkuchen

At the farm, there is a lovely old plum tree that magically seems loaded with plums every year in spite of little care taken for it. During school groups in the Fall, one of the themes is 'Harvest'. In one of the stations the children visit, we talk about canning and preserving. As part of that we make a batch of plum jam on the old wood stove in the summer kitchen which the children get to sample. The plums are not the round ones, but the oblong, blue ones which are sometimes called Italian plums.

After we have enough for the jam making, the rest often seem to go to waste, so this year I brought home enough to make an old German treat called Pflaumenkuchen. Here is the recipe I used:

Pflaumenkuchen
preheat oven to 375F
grease a jelly roll pan

1/4 lb. butter
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
2 1/2 - 3 lb. small Italian plums
1 c. chopped nuts
sugar and cinnamon to taste

Cream butter, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla together. Add flour, salt, and baking powder and mix well. Spread this dough on the jelly roll pan. Wash, halve and pit the plums. Place plums on dough with cut side up and touching one another. Sprinkle plums with sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle nuts over the plums. Bake for 30 minutes.

The picture below doesn't really do it justice, but it really is most delicious!