This authentic German Plum Cake recipe, known as Zwetschgenkuchen or Zwetschgendatschi, is made just the way you know and love it from Germany! A yeast-based cake with juicy plums and a sweet streusel topping, this extraordinarily delicious cake is one of my very favorites and is the way my Mutti and Oma made it!
For more fruity German cakes be sure to also try our German Apple Cake, Rhubarb Streusel Cake, and while not exactly “cake,” our Apple Strudel is a must!
Depending on which region of Germany you’re in, German plum cake goes by a variety of names including Zwetschgenkuchen, Zwetschgendatschi, Quetschekuche or Pflaumenkuchen. I know, they’re all tongue-twisters! :)
Variations exist throughout the regions of Germany with some versions using a yeast dough while others use a shortcrust pastry known as Rührteig. Some have a streusel topping while others omit it. And some people make them round and taller while others make them rectangular in the style known as “Blechkuchen” (sheet pan cake). But whichever pastry crust is used, with or without streusel, and whether it’s round or rectangular, all of these versions showcase the plump, juicy, sweet European plums known as Italian plums.
Which Plums Do I Need to Make German Plum Cake?
To make proper German plum cake you really need Italian plums. These are small and oval-shaped and are far meatier than their Asian plum cousins. Fleshier with a lower moisture content is important because you want to have a moist cake, not a mushy cake. Italian plums are considered the most ideal for cooking and baking not only because of their texture but also because their flavor becomes more complex and delicious through cooking. Italian plum season is short, usually from September through early October, and Germans know how to seize the opportunity when it’s there. So wait patiently for plum season and then hit your local farmer’s markets for some Italian plums. Alternatively you can also use frozen Italian plums; just be sure to thaw and very thoroughly drain them before using them.
We were so lucky to have our own Italian plum trees when we lived in Washington State. When we moved to Virginia a few years ago we immediately got to work planting an orchard of fruit trees, including some Italian plums. They’re not yielding a lot of fruit yet, but they’re getting there and I’ll be ready for them!
The version of German Plum Cake that we’re making today is my personal favorite. It’s made with yeast dough, which is more time-consuming than the simpler Rührteig (shortcrust pastry) versions, but it’s far superior in my opinion. This traditional version is also sprinkled with a streusel topping. This Zwetschgenkuchen recipe is the way my Mutti and Oma made it and is typical of where I’m from in Baden-Württemberg, though this version is popular throughout Germany. This type of Zwetschgenkuchen is typically made on a Backblech (a baking sheet) versus in a round springform and cut into squares for serving.
Like most German cakes, this German plum cake is not overly sweet. It has a nice balance between sweet and tart with just a touch of warmth from the cinnamon. The riper the plums the sweeter the cake will be.
This German plum cake will keep for 2-3 days. And although the streusel will get soft, the cake tastes even better the day after baking as the juices from the plums have time to penetrate the dough.
Can I Use Other Fruits?
You sure can! This recipe is also delicious using other stone fruits like apricots, peaches and nectarines.
Can You Freeze German Plum Cake?
Yes, you can. I generally recommend eating it within a couple of days but if you have more leftovers than you can manage, this can be wrapped and put in a freezer container for up to a month. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight.
German Plum Cake Recipe
Let’s get started!
Dissolve the yeast into the warm milk and let is sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy.
Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and pour in the yeast mixture, melted warm (not hot) butter, eggs and vanilla extract. Give it an initial stir to combine the ingredients and then attach a dough hook and knead it on the bread setting (“2”) for 4-5 minutes.
The dough will be sticky but should hold together fairly well. It will not be firm enough to knead into a ball, think of it more as a thick batter.
Cover it loosely with plastic wrap and set it in a warm, draft free place to rise for an hour or until about doubled in size.
Generously butter a large jelly roll pan (at least 18 inches in length and about 13 inches wide) or, like I’m using and as pictured below, a German Backblech if you have one (the one I’m using in the picture I brought with me from Germany).
Use your hands to spread the dough out across the full length of the pan, pressing it up against the sides. It’s yeast dough so it will resist, but just keep pushing it back into position the best you can. Once you put the plums on it, those will help keep it in place.
Time for the plums! The riper the plums the sweeter the cake will be. However, if they’re overly ripe – meaning mushy – they’ll be even mushier on the finished baked product, so keep that in mind too.
Cut the plums in half and remove the pits. Then slice the plums in half again, slicing each plum into quarters.
Lay the plums close together in rows over the whole length of the dough on the sheet pan.
If you want your cake a bit sweeter you can sprinkle it *lightly* with sugar or cinnamon-sugar if you prefer more cinnamon. I emphasize “lightly” because the more sugar you add the more watery the cake will be as the sugar liquifies during baking and your streusel will also “melt” in contact with it.
Set the pan in a warm place and let it rise for up to another hour.
Now let’s make the streusel topping. Place all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and use your fingers to bring it all together. Work with the mixture until it’s thoroughly combined and forms a rough sand and clumpy texture.
Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the cake.
Bake the cake on the middle rack of the oven preheated to 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden.
Let the cake sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing to let some of the liquid set.
Slice the cake into squares.
A tool that I use that’s really handy and works like a charm for sheet cakes and many other things is the OXO Multi-Purpose Scraper & Chopper.
Serve and enjoy!
Guten Appetit!
For more delicious German desserts be sure to try our:
- German Apple Cake
- German Cheesecake
- Cherry Marzipan Streusel Cake
- Gugelhupf
- Stollen
- Rhubarb Streusel Cake
- Pfeffernüsse
- Lebkuchen
- Zimtsterne
German Plum Cake (Zwetschgenkuchen)
Ingredients
- 3 + pounds Italian plums ,cut into quarters, pits removed
- 1 cup warm milk , *start with 3/4 and add extra to the dough as needed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dry active yeast
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup melted but not hot)
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon quality pure vanilla extract
- For the Streusel:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter ,at room temperature
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast into the 3/4 cup warm milk and let is sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy.
- Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and pour in the yeast mixture, melted warm (not hot) butter, eggs and vanilla extract. Give it an initial stir to combine the ingredients and then attach a dough hook and knead it on the bread setting ("2") for 4-5 minutes, adding the remaining 1/4 cup milk as necessary. (The dough will be sticky but should hold together fairly well. It will not be firm enough to knead into a ball, think of it more as a thick batter.) Cover it loosely with plastic wrap and set it in a warm, draft free place to rise for an hour or until about doubled in size.
- Generously butter a German Backblech extended to full length or a large jelly roll pan (at least 18 inches in length and 1 inch sides but even then the crust will be thicker than with the Backblech).
- Use your hands to spread the dough out across the full length of the pan, pressing it up against the sides. (It's yeast dough so it will resist, but just keep pushing it back into position the best you can. Once you put the plums on it, those will help keep it in place.) Lay the plums close together in rows over the whole length of the dough on the sheet pan. (If you want your cake a bit sweeter you can sprinkle it *lightly* with sugar or cinnamon-sugar if you prefer more cinnamon. I emphasize "lightly" because the more sugar you add the more watery the cake will be as the sugar liquifies during baking and your streusel will also "melt" in contact with it.)
- Set the pan in a warm place and let it rise for up to another hour.
- To make the streusel: Place all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and use your fingers to bring it all together. Work with the mixture until it's thoroughly combined and forms a rough sand and clumpy texture. Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the cake.
- Bake the cake on the middle rack of the oven preheated to 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden.
- Let the cake sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing to let some of the liquid set. Slice the cake into squares and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet September 8, 2016
Ingrid says
Thanks for this! I am going to try making it this weekend. Do you have the quantities in metric measurements?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Ingrid, I’m slowly going through all of my recipes and including the metric measurements. I’ve just updated this one to include metric. Below the ingredients you’ll see the option in blue writing and can click on “metric.”
Ingrid says
Many thanks. I really appreciate it. :)
Monika says
I finally made a Zwetschenkuchen and this recipe is wonderful; definitely a keeper. Ran out of plums so I added apples to complete. Tastes great as well, especially with the crumbs. Do you have any experiences with freezing this cake? Can make a few cakes and freeze for later! Thanks for sharing this recipe. Monika
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Monika! Yes, you can freeze it and then let it thaw at room temperature. However, just know that the streusel will likely lost its crunch, if that’s important to you.
Sabine says
I made this today exactly as written. It turned out fabulous! This cake is a must try.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Sabine, I’m thrilled to hear that, thank you!
Greta says
For some reason i cannot work with yeast. 100% failures. Would you have a Zwetchgen Kuchen recipe using a different cake recipe. I would love you forever.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Greta, I don’t have one at the moment, sorry. BUT I really think you should give the yeast dough another try!! :)
Greta Ebersole says
Thank you so much for the recipe, Kimberly
I can hardly wait for the weekend to make the Kuchen. My mouth is already watering. This is quite a challenge for me, so keep your fingers crossed.
Thank you so very much
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
My fingers are crossed for you, Greta, and I wish you great success!
Sabine says
Try using the batter recipe from Dr. Oetker’s apple cake. My mom used to use this batter for this plum cake when she didn’t have enough time to wait for the yeast dough to rise, etc. I’m not good with yeast either, and my dough rose, but did not double in size and mine still turned out great. Like Kimberly said, give it another try.
Greta says
What a great idea. I will definitely try it today. Many thanks!!!
Katharina says
Try this yeast dough recipe. The dough doesn’t need to rise before baking.
1/2 cup (125 ml) milk, 7 ounces (200g) butter, 3 1/2 cup (500g) all-purpose flour, 2 cubes fresh yeast, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup (160g) granulated sugar.
Dissolve the butter in warm milk on the stove (let it get warm, not hot)
Sift the flour into a bowl, make a hollow in the flour, add the butter-milk-mixture.
Add the yeast (breake it into crumbs) and the eggs and mix to a smooth dough.
Fill a bucket or the sink with cold water and place the dough in it (this is not a joke – it works)
Wait a few minutes until the dough starts to float in the water.
Take out the dough and mix in the sugar.
Spread the dough on the baking sheet (buttered). Lay out the plums or other fruit, add the streusel and bake for 30 min. at 350 degrees and than check every few minutes until the dough is golden.
I personaly like the dough soaked with the plum juices, so I prepare the plums and sugar them before I start with the dough. This also helps if the plums or not quiet ripe or very sour.
Apples in slices work fine or try peeled, cut and sugared rhubarb. Don’t forget the whipped cream on top.
Paul says
If is was legal here, Zwetchgenwasser – Plum Brandy. My cousin’s husband in Pfullingen has a friend in B-W, Germany who has a distillers license and makes it from their Italian Plums out of their orchard. I suppose people here might call it Plum Schnapps.
Lysa Beebe says
It is 10:30 pm on a Saturday night and my whole house smells like heaven! I have two of these cakes in the oven for the last 5 minutes and couldn’t help myself so I took one out and cut the smallest square from the corner. My daughter, husband, and I couldn’t wait to taste it. OH my gosh you have just made everyone in my house so happy!! My kids were born in Germany. We are a military family and have made at least 10 moves in their lives. The oldest is 21! Every place that we have lived is tied to a food and this cake is Germany. My two boys (17 &18 yrs) are celiacs so I had to tweak the flours a bit. It was so worth it! I made one large cookie sheet and a half cookie sheet. Ill be lucky if there is any left for breakfast. Thank you so much for the recipe and the excitement for one of the yummiest memories of Germany!!
I would love to rate this a perfect 10!! <3<3<3
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
YES!!! I’m absolutely delighted to hear it’s been such a family hit, Lysa, thank you so much for the feedback! <3
Petra says
I wish I could find those certain plums anywhere. I found some called French plums today at the farmers market. The taste is just like the german plums, but the are much smaller. It’ll have to do. Making zwetschken kuchen tomorrow 😍😍😍, can’t wait!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Yay, Petra! Let us know how it goes!
Anonymous says
Came out delicious
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, thank you!
Trudy says
Hi Kimberly, just went to the German Fest in Huntington Beach California, of course had to have the Zwetschgunkuchen, delicious. I bought one slice that was made with the yeast dough then I bought one a whole one at the bakery that was made with a butter crust, both delicious but I’m all about tradition so I’m making yours. I have one question about the backblech, usually when a baking pan is dark it has a tendency to overbake things, do you lower the temp in your oven to accommodate this? I like how it is expandable. Just to let your readers know Costco wholesale sells the plums when they are in season. I’m going to buy some today and try your recipe.
Thank you for posting!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Trudy, yes, it can have a tendency to overbake the bottom of the cake and so you’ll want to make sure you bake it on the middle shelf, not the bottom. Even so, expect a light brown crust. I also check it a couple of times a few minutes early to check for doneness. Thanks for the tip on the Costco plums and happy baking! :)
Lorna says
As a young girl, going to German School in the 60’s in San Francisco to keep up with the language, I loved eating this plum kuchen at the various celebration and events. Your photos look exactly as I remembered it. I love yeast cakes and breads and this one is no exception. I will make it tomorrow with my Satsuma plums which are a bit juicier than the recipe sites. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Lorna, let us know what you think and if this cake is how you remember it!
Emma says
I just wanted to thank you for posting this recipe. I used to buy a piece of this delicious cake every weekend from a German baker who had a stall at our local farmers market. I have since moved to another town, so I searched on the Internet for quite a while to find a recipe so I could make it myself, and finally stumbled across your recipe. Made it last weekend and it looked, smelt and tasted exactly the same as the one I used to buy, it turned out perfect! And it was really easy to make as well. Will try another one of your recipes next weekend!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
YES!! I’m so thrilled to hear that, Emma, thank you!
Sue says
This was one of my favorite cakes growing up. However, instead of streusel my Oma used something she call einbrein. Have you heard about that? I would like to find a recipe for that topping. It was more like a sauce that hardened upon baking. Any idea where I could look for that recipe?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sue, do you mean Einbrenn? Einbrenn is a roux, so it’s made by melting butter and adding an equal amount of flour, whisking it until it’s golden, then pouring in milk and continuing to whisk until it’s a creamy mixture. It’s what’s used to thicken sauces and I’ve never heard of it being used as a topping for cake. Another common topping for Zwetschgenkuchen is a layer of vanilla custard that firms up when it’s baked, but it isn’t called Einbrenn, einbrein, or anything similar to that.
Sue says
Yes,it was a type of roux. She would sprinkle the sugar over the plums and then pour the sauce over the cake. Maybe it was designed to absorb the juice from the plums. Oma was German born in Serbia. I don’t think milk was very plentiful. All of her sauces were made with water instead of milk so butter for streusel may not have been available. Thank you for your reply, Kimberly!
Oliver says
My mother made this cake a few times – i can remember the yeast aroma and the tangy smell of the plums as if it was yesterday (actualy 40 plus years ago)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
So true, Oliver. They’ve found that smell is more closely linked to memory than any of the other five senses and I believe it.
Loreta says
I’m being looking for good recipe for German plum cake Zwetschgenkuchen and I finally found on your website This cake looks delicious and I making this weakend I have my friends from Germany ( visiting) so I will surprise them and they can be a critics how it turns out. Because the Italian plum season is short I was wondering if I made couple of cakes and freezes some for lather use its the cake still by OK? I think if I pre-cook maybe halfway then cool wrapped in ceramics wrap and freeze then when I needed cook from frozen till done or I should freeze before cooking? Anyone have any suggestions? Please let my know! Loreta
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Loreta, I’m so glad you found my site – welcome! I’m sure your friends will be very impressed :) If you bake it completely and then cool it, it should freeze pretty well, except that the streusel will lose its crunch. If your plums can hold out until your friends arrive I would suggest waiting. Storing the plums in the crisper drawer in the fridge will prolong their life. Let us know how it goes!
Sonja says
I just made your cake and it is delicious. I used to live in Stuttgart and this one was one of my favorites among other great German bake goods. Love the yeast dough. Can it be used as a base for apple cake?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, Sonja, I’m so happy to hear it! Absolutely, this is a perfect base recipe for a variety of fruits, including apples.
Citra Kale @Citra's Home Diary says
I heard about this cake but still couldn’t find nice recipe (and in English :))… thx for sharing this. Can’t wait to try it in my kitchen. Adore your garden with that plum tree… I wish I was living near by you.. I would bring 1 empty bucket to fill with those plums :D