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Recipe for "zwetschgend"

NAME

     ZWETSCHGEND - A Bavarian plum delicacy for dessert
     My mother  and  grandmother  make  this  Bavarian  specialty
     without  a  recipe;  this  recipe is from my mother, after I
     pressed her to write it down so I could  make  my  own.   It
     also  includes  variations  from  a few other folks that you
     might like to try.  Roughly translated from Bavarian to Ger-
     man,  this is Pflaumenkuchen, which, roughly translated from
     German to to English  is  Plum  cake.   However,  Zwetschgen
     aren't  ordinary plums, a Datschi isn't really a Kuchen, and
     a Kuchen is most definitely not a cake!
     This dessert is made of the  slightly  tart  Italian  plums,
     which  are  unfortunately only available at certain times of
     the year. Don't try to make it with ordinary plums;  they're
     too sweet and too juicy.

INGREDIENTS (Fills one round cake pan)

     120g      butter
     60g       sugar
     2.5 ml    vanilla (or use vanilla sugar)
     1         egg
     0.5 ml    salt (only if you use unsalted butter)
     5 ml      lemon peel
     15 ml     sour cream
     200 g     flour
     5 ml      baking powder
     500 g     Italian plums
          OPTIONAL STREUSEL TOPPING
     90 g      butter
     75 g      flour
     70 g      sugar
     2.5 ml    cinnamon

PROCEDURE

          (1)  In a large bowl, cream the butter, add  the  sugar
               (and  vanilla),  add  the egg, (salt,) lemon peel,
               and sour cream.  Mix the flour and baking  powder,
               and add that.
          (2)  Pit the  plums,  splitting  them  into  halves  or
               thirds.   Grease  the  pan  and  spread the dough.
               Liberally spread plums over the dough,  meat  side
               up.   If  the  plums  are sour (as opposed to just
               tart), sprinkle them lightly with sugar.
          (3)  To make the optional Streusel topping,  cream  the
               butter,  add  flour,  sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle
               over the plums.
          (4)  Bake for 30-45 minutes in the middle rack  at  190
               deg. C.  Be careful not to let the bottom burn!
          (5)  Serve liberally topped with freshly-made  whipping
               cream.

NOTES

     A Datschi may actually be made with any fruit; I  happen  to
     love it with Zwetschgen the best.
     I don't know this with Streusel on top, and never prepare it
     that way, but several of my acquaintances swear by it.  Made
     with other fruit, I would  be  more  likely  to  accept  the
     Streusel.
     If you like, you may sprinkle rum or cinnamon over the fruit
     before baking.  Also, you might try substituting rum for the
     sour cream in the dough, or just adding both.
     If you want to make  a  cookie-sheet-sized  Datschi,  simply
     double the recipe.

RATING

     Difficulty: moderate.   Time:  20  minutes  preparation,  20
     minutes baking.  Precision: approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Chris Kent
     DEC Western Research Lab, Palo Alto, California
     kent@decwrl.DEC.COM {ihnp4,ucbvax,decvax}!decwrl!kent