Saturday, July 11, 2009

Plum Sour Cream Kuchen


Ever since I heard the word kuchen, I've wanted to make one. Though apparently kuchen is just the German word for cake - so really, I've already made many kuchens! But I still love how it sounds. I randomly came across this plum sour cream kuchen on a blog somewhere and since I have the cookbook it came from (The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book) and it looked pretty easy, I decided to make it for a simple dessert at a family dinner. Plus it uses one of my favourite fruits! And speaking of plums, I was just reading about how "one relatively inexpensive plum contains about the same amount of antioxidants as a handful of more expensive blueberries." (Source)


This kuchen would be great as an afternoon snack, breakfast, anything really. It was wonderfully dense and moist - I should've taken a picture of a slice of it to show you the gorgeous inside. And I love how the plums look on top. You could easily use whatever fruit you want, or even omit the fruit. This cake would make a great base for all sorts of experimentation. Maybe add some earl grey tea leaves or chocolate chunks or a caramel swirl.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Strawberry Cream Cake
Applesauce Spice Bars
Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake
Sweetened Condensed Milk Cake


Plum Sour Cream Kuchen
Adapted from The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book

I used a 9 inch springform pan so only used 3 plums, but if you want to use a 10 inch pan, you could fit 4 plums. If you want you can put a glaze of apricot jam on top but I opted not to.

3 large plums (about 3/4 lb)
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp grated orange rind
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (Ashley note: I used 300 g.)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Grease and flour 9-inch springform pan; set aside.

Pit plums and cut into 1/4-inch (5 mm) thick slices. In bowl, toss together plums, brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

In large bowl, beat butter with granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange rind and vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In small bowl, stir sour cream with oil. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture alternately with sour cream mixture, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of wet ingredients. Scrape into prepared pan; smooth top. Arrange plums in concentric circles on top, leaving about 1/2 inch (1 cm) between circles.

Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. (Ashley note: Check at 1 hour.) Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove side of pan. (Make-ahead: Let cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap (or put in a plastic container) and store at room temperature for up to 24 hours or freeze in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)

23 comments:

Anna said...

I love your super-neat circle of plum slices, it's so professional looking! And 'kuchen' somehow sounds so much more interesting than cake - like 'gateau' in French really, I suppose. Sounds kinda fun, haha.

veggievixen said...

oooh, plums! i got these really cute ones from the farmer's market today and am trying to decide what delicious baked good to whip up with them. i'm thinking plum tart or something, but this sounds awesome! i've never actually made a kuchen, it's one of those variations i haven't tried yet.

Dana said...

Just gorgeous - worthy of a professional. I think plums are an underrated summer fruit. The berries get all the flashy recipes and photos, but plums are just as (if not more so) delicious.

Cele said...

wow that cake looks yummy. Found your fabulous blog through your Flickr.
I'll be busy trying your recipes :)
Cele

Steph said...

Your Kuchen looks so nice! I love how you arranged the plums. I wish it was last year again when I visited Germany...

Johanna GGG said...

that looks spectacular - I wanted to try plum cake a few months back but the plums were a bad lot so it is high on my list next summer

Snooky doodle said...

what a nice way to use plums :)This cake looks delicious!

grace said...

beautifully done! i've never seen such perfection involving plums, nor have i ever craved them so much. :)

Ricki said...

Another stunning dessert (or breakfast!) ;)

Hannah said...

How beautiful! I can't wait until we start getting really good plums around here... They still might be a few weeks off, sadly.

Tia said...

that looks amazing! i'm from BC too. what do you think of the CL Baking Book? Would you reccommend it?

CookiePie said...

Yum - that looks fantastic! Love the idea of plums on a kuchen. And I agree - it doesn't need a glaze - it's perfect like that! Delish!

Maria said...

Gorgeous dessert!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

What an amazing dessert:D

Karine said...

I love this cake! It looks amazing!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

A beautiful kuchen! I like how a kuchen is less sugary than a traditional cake. They seem a little homier, too.

elly said...

This cake is absolutely gorgeous and sounds delicious too. I definitely need to make this!

Teanna said...

That cake looks absolutely phenomenal! I am so impressed!

Hilary said...

Wow, what a spectacular cake! I love all things Canadian Living so I'm not surprised I like the look of this. I was kind of a weird kid - I would rather read Canadian Living than Seventeen magazine.

Talita said...

This looks really yummy! I'd love to see inside the kuchen!

The Food Librarian said...

This is so beautiful! I love how tall it is and the great way the plums are laid out!

Cathlin said...

There's nothing like a German cake. :]

Veda said...

wow that looks simply delishhhh! First time here and ur blog is cool!