Hello Bakers,
So after decluttering my cookbooks, I actually started using the ones I kept more, especially my bread books. I have a series of Bread books by Beth Hensberger, a very talented and prolific cookbook author from the late eighties and into the aughts. I looked her up and found that she had died in 2021. Well, that made me very sad becuse if you have any of her books and she went well beyond bread - she was very talented.
You can kind them still on Amazon and most are on Kindle too
This small batch plum cake was inspired by one of her recipes. I scaled it down, put it in grams and modernized it a little. Beyond plums it can be made with peaches, nectarines, blueberries and canned pears, well drained. Or you could use poached pears if you like.
What takes it to the next level is the sour cream that is spread on the top of the cake before the fruit and streusel are arranged on top. It’s so good.
Give this a try, bakers it’s a cross between a brioche and a baba savarin. It goes together quickly as it does not bulk ferment only proofs.
Plum Crumb Cake:
Yield 1 8 cake - serves 6-8
Components: Yeasted Kuchen Dough, Easy Crumb Topping, Pitted and sliced plums
Start to Finish:
Yeasted Dough:
Equipment: Stand Mixer Fitted with dough hook, bowl scraper or spatula, 8” springform or regular cake pan - well greased with softened butter, spatula
250g bread flour
43g sugar
4g yeast
4g salt
143g milk, 80 degrees
1 large egg (50g)
43g unsalted butter, softened
4g vanilla extract
Mise en place - milk and yeast hydrating in the mixer bowl
Combine milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Add egg, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, flour and salt and mix for 2 minutes on speed 2.
Add softened butter and mix on speed one for 2 minutes and then finish with a 2 minute mix on speed 2. You are looking for the dough to be smooth and silky. Mix for an additional minute on speed 1 if it is not smooth.
Place dough in the prepared pan. Press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan.
Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
In the meanwhile, prepare the crumb topping and the sour cream layer
Crumb Topping
75g AP flour
30g sugar
30g brown sugar
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
43g unsalted butter, melted
Place all ingredients except melted butter in a medium sized bowl, stir well, add butter and mix until the dry ingredients are combined and the mixed gets crumbly.
Sour cream topping
120g sour cream
38g sugar
11g flour
4g vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and whisk until smooth
4 plums, pitted and sliced
Plum Cake Assembly
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Before baking - try not to overcrowd the top with plums
Equipment: baking tray for underneath cake pan, offset spatula, spatula
Place cake on baking tray, pour sour cream topping over batter, spread evenly on surface, fan sliced plums on the top of the cake - starting with the outside edge.
Top with crumb topping.
Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan.