I opened my front door one day last week to find a large bag of plums from our neighbours. 😀
After umming and aahing for a day or so I decided to make the traditional Bavarian tart which uses a simple yeast dough as the base. The plums are quartered and set out on top of the dough like roof tiles. Sugar is only added after baking.
The first one of the year is always the best, with slightly firmer and tart plums more suitable than the later juicier ones – delicious!
Zwetschgendatschi (Plum Tart)
The base:
- 375g (3 cups) flour (reserve a little for the work surface for kneading)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 tbsps sunflower oil (or similar)
- 1 packet instant yeast
- 4 tbsps sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla sugar OR 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 175ml (3/4 cup) lukewarm almond milk
Mix all these ingredients together and knead well on a floured surface for five minutes. Cover and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.
The topping:
- 5-6 tbsps dried breadcrumbs
- 1.5kg (a generous 3 lbs) plums/damsons
- 2-3 tbsps sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Meanwhile prepare the fruit – remove the stones and quarter the plums. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Now roll out the dough and press into a large greased baking tray (about 30 x 40 cm). Make a slight rim around the edges to stop juice overflowing. Prick with a fork a few times, sprinkle over the breadcrumbs evenly (these help stop the juice seeping into the dough), and leave to rest again for 10 minutes. Then place the plums on the dough – very close together, “sitting up”, in rows as in the picture below.
You can see these were everso slightly green still – just right!
Bake for about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.
The house will smell wonderful while it’s baking!
Serve with whipped vegan cream. It tastes good warm and cold too. You can also put more sugar on the table for those who don’t like it too sharp!
(This slice is for Nancy at Strawberryindigo) 😀
Enjoy!
Words and Herbs 
Your desserts always look so fabulous and yummy, Cathy! Have a wonderful rest of your weekend! 🙂
Thanks Sheryl. We had some lovely weather at the weekend, but now it’s really looking like autumn!
Wow was that a lot of work to pit and lay out so pretty. It you were my neighbor I would give you a bag of Pears to Poach in a yummy Liquor 🙂
It actually didn’t take long at all! Poached pears in liqueur sounds wonderful… I don’t think we will get many apples this year so I may have to make plum strudel instead this autumn!
Strudel of any kind is so GOOOOOOD 🙂
Our Apples are early and delicious they say I will get some at a local Orchid Baked Apples are so easy and so say FALL it dropped to 40’s F last night and Wednesday it may reach 90 F how is that for a swing 🙂
Sounds like a very good way to use a gift of plums. The cooked tart with the overlapping plums and baked juice looks really delicious.
Some of the traditional recipes here are so simple yet so good… and with hardly any sugar too. The problem is, you can’t stop at just one piece! 😉
Oh Cathy! It looks divine and you saved me a piece! I will savor it tonight with a cup of tea. YOU are the BEST my friend! 😀 😀
Hope you enjoyed it Nancy! xx
That looks delicious, Cathy! The oven-tray tart is a thing I encountered for the first time in these parts. All the more for eating, in my book!
I think it’s an excellent way to bake too…. great for a crowd or for just stocking the freezer with leftovers! 😀
Great. We´ll have it in some weeks. Our plums ripen a little later (500 km far North).
I love the way recipes like this vary from one region to the next… plums always seem to taste good in baked goods anyway!
My father loves plums without skin. He asks my mother always to preserve them in that way. After boiling the plum he takes a small potato fork and removes the skin.
I can quite understand that, but I love the way the skin caramelizes if I make plum jam… 😀
Me too 🙂
Mmm, making me hungry (again) I’ve only just had breakfast!
It would be nice for elevenses… 😉 (Do people still have elevenses in the UK?)
As pretty as it is yummy…and I’ll bet it makes a wonderful breakfast, too!
I think you could eat this any time of day Marie! 😉 In fact I did! LOL!
I can only agree with the others – very yummie and well presented and will soon be baked here too. Enjoy the cake in your lovely garden, hope the sun shines for you. 🙂
We’ve had such lovely weather this past week Annette, with morning mists, but clear blue skies later in the day. I think the next few days will be very autumny though with a cooler spell forecast.
What a stunning dessert! The plums have a fabulous color and the flavor irresistible!
Thanks Deb, yes it is stunning and yet such a simple tart. Very tasty!
A delightful gift turned into a most yummy looking tart. Is there any left Cathy?
We managed to get through quite a lot, but at least a third has been stashed in the freezer for a rainy day! 😉
Oh Cathy this looks so incredible!!
You should try it if you have plums available already! 😀
How wonderful, I like the sound of the base and am tempted to try greengages (my favourite fruit of the moment in this).
I bet that would be good Andrea! 😀
Oh yes, it’s Zwetschgendatschi time again! The original only with a yeast dough. Looks great!
Did you know the original is supposedly NOT a yeast dough, but a “Mürbteig”?! 😉 I looked it up: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwetschgendatschi
😀
Ohnonononono 🙂 . There’s only one Datschi and that is with yeast dough. What does Wikipedia know anyway 😉 ?
Yeah, Wikipedia cannot always be right! 😉
That looks delicious Cathy; and you always serve your baking on such pretty plates.
Thanks Christina! Presentation plays a role too! 😉
Ohhhhh, you’ve got me with this one! We love this cake here and even my two boys can say Zwetschgendatschi with a very cute, slightly English accent. Whereabouts in Bavaria are you based? I grew up near Rosenheim (half way between Munich and Salzburg).
Hi there! From a tiny little village near the Danube! It’s just a few miles to Regensburg from here. Near Rosenheim is such a pretty area too – near the mountains. 😉
Oh lovely, I hope you enjoy the festive season in Bavaria. Maybe you could have a Gluehwein at one of the Christmas markets for me 😉
Loved your Zwetschgendatschi – it brought back wonderful culinary memories. I grew up a bit further north in Franconia, and it seems the Weisswurst equator is also the yeast dough equator. In Old Bavaria, below the Danube, the datschis are made with yeast dough, while in Northern regions, Muerbteig dough rules (although there are now “imports” and “exports”, both ways). Whenever we used to go visit our Munich relatives, we would get the yeast style datschi, and it is sooo good!
It is also important to use the right kind of plum. In English speaking regions, these are the prune plum varieties; in Germany, especially in the South, they are known as Zwetschgen, as opposed to Pflaumen. The former being more egg-shaped, while the latter are more round. I found a good equivalent here in the US in the Stanley type plum, or as you mentionned, the Damsons. They have just that right type of tanginess, which produces that mouthwatering bliss of a good Zwetschgendatschi. Don’t get me wrong, Pflaumenkuchen made with regular, non-prune plums, and usually on a Muerbteig bottom is good, and so is Mirabellenkuchen, made from green plums. These are simply different products, each to be enjoyed in their own right.
Thanks for your comment Barbara!