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
Cali says
If I make this the day before, is it okay set on the counter and covered, or do I need to refrigerate it? I’m thinking it would be fine on the counter but just wanted to check what you suggest. Thank you! Can’t wait to try it! My family and I always go to a fun German Fest at the end of August. It was canceled so we are improvising and making our own little dinner! I’ll be using your recipes for three of the dishes!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s awesome, Cali, I hope you enjoy them all! Yes, no problem at all letting it sit covered on the counter. Happy eating! :)
Isha says
My Babusia made it exactly the same way in southern Poland. Thanks for sharing the step by step process with such helpful photos!
Tom says
Other uses for those plums? Sure – try making some plum jam using a German recipe (Plaumenmus). Its a thick, dark brown, butter. And the taste: out of this world good! Spiced with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, etc. And if you make 5 gallons of it, and cant stand it, send it to me and I’ll “dispose” it for you in a heart beat – LOL! Great on buttered toast, white buns (Broetchen), yummy on cream cheese, you name it.
Heads up re: plum tarts: use 2″ deep baking pans to hold in the juice. A 1″ deep baking sheet will drip all over as the sugar pulls juice out and the 1″ deep sheet cant hold it. Better to use 2″ deep glass trays or smaller deep pans than cleaning up the baked on drippings. Plum tarts are the best. Especially with what I call “fake cool whip”. Whats that? Recall high school algebra: a minus times a minus is a positive. Now think: Fake “cool whip” which is already fake, equals REAL FRESH WHIPPED CREAM – haha gotcha! Whats a guy supposed to do when you’re fresh out of the 50 chemicals they put in that stuff… So enjoy some original “fake cool whip” – best there is!
Sherri Stein says
Yummy! My husband is Czech and he requested a plum Kuchen. He loved this cake it reminded him of home. I also sent a big piece to a German friend. He ended up eating 3 pieces. I loved that I could taste the plums instead of hiding the flavor in sugar. Thanks for using American ingredients. This will definitely be a recipe I use over and over. Thank you!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it, Sherri, thank you!
Jeremy Garner says
I’ve seen some Zwetschgenkuchen made with a custard as well. Could this recipe be used in conjunction with a layer of custard before placing your Italian plums and streusel?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
For sure, Jeremy. A vanilla-flavored custard made with quark is also commonly used in German sheet cakes like this.
Just FYI if you haven’t already seen it and are interested, here is my tutorial on making homemade Quark: https://www.daringgourmet.com/how-to-make-quark/
Peter says
Wunderbarer Kuchen und er schmeckt sooo gut
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Vielen Dank, Peter!
JA says
Italian blue plums!!! I still make my Mom’s plum butter recipe. Started pitting and freezing plums several years ago. Helps to stave off the winter cravings. Have thought of making plum chutney? Cheers!
Anonymous says
Omgoodness. You have brought back a lot of happy childhood memories with this recipe. Oma, Tante & other family members always made this & for sure the right plum makes all the difference 💗
LAURA says
I have been looking for the German plum cake my mother and grandmother made. This looks and sound the same. I do have their strussel recipe and it is a little different. Can’t wait to try your recipe! Thanks!
Linda says
Laura, HI! My mother was from Romania and made this, but I don’t think she used the crumb crust. I thought she used cottage cheese and at first I thought eggs, but then thinking maybe just cottage cheese and sugar? We never got the recipe from her before she passed. Could you please send me yours to try to my email address, bdm0937@yahoo.com I bought plums yesterday and finally found some yeast. I would appreciate it. So want to make some I just loved it. She also made her own dough and used plum jam to spaced, cut out and put in boiling water and then pan fried with bread crumbs, does this ring a bell?
Anonymous says
im trying to print this so I can make it but wont let me..my oma made this all the time and im so happy to find it
Erika Hatcher says
Can this be frozen?
Elke says
yes you can freeze the Zwetschgen Kuchen. You can warm it in the oven, and even enjoy at Christmas. I just put two in the Freezer.
JP says
So fantastic! Well outlined description of the how to. And the perfect “adult “ dessert and a real favorite, meaning very flavorful and not too awfully sweet!!! Putting it together is easy, it just needs the time to rise, when you can do other things. Our Boston area DeMoulas “Market Basket” has the plums,(slightly more russet color than the deep purple shown) in autumn for a good price. I hope that the lady in DC was able to make it for her moms 100th birthday! Seems like someplace in DC ought to have ‘em.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, JP, thanks so much!
Mimi says
I am so happy to have found this recipe. I marked a lot more to make and just acquired Rose water to make marzipan! Thank you so much!
We loved this recipe tonight although I could not find Zwetschgen but used regular dark plums. I might have to plant my own tree.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Mimi, thank you! You can never go wrong planting your own fruit trees, lol, all you need is some patience :) I think you’re going to really LOVE the marzipan. Thanks so much for the feedback!
Georgette Crawford says
I’m actually on here today because I picked up some plums the other day to make your French Almond Plum Cake. I came back on the site to see the photo of how you laid out the plums. That’s when I saw you also had a recipe for Pflaumenkuchen. My mother was from near Wangen/ Stuttgart, and she always made the fruit sheet cakes, whether with plums, apples or peaches. I’ve done it myself, but not with any real recipe for the dough. Her recipes were verbal, and by saying, “about this much flour to a packet of yeast, etc., and knead it til “it feels right.” She passed away many, many years ago, so I’ve done it by what I remember, and keep my fingers crossed. I’ve mostly done apples or peaches (used to have a peach tree), but the plums which I find in the grocery store here (Calif.), that are purple, just don’t seem like the purple Italian plums she used, and I haven’t found others. Long story- short.. I bought “purple plums” and am still planning to make the French Almond Plum cake today. I’m hanging on to this recipe though, too, for the next time I make the sheet pan cake of any variety, and am hopeful my crust will be improved. It’s also really nice that the sheet version of these fruit cakes make a nice breakfast treat as well as a delicious dessert. Our daughter & son-in-law took us to Germany this past May- Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Rothenburg and Bertchesgaden. Such beautiful country, wonderful scenery, fabulous food, and met wonderful people. Thank you for your recipes. Wish me luck on the French Almond Plum. With Fall around the corner there will be Apfelkuchen in our future. I’ll let you know then how I do with the crust.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you stumbled upon our Pflaumenkuchen, Georgette. Every bite of it is a taste of home for me, I think you’ll really enjoy it. How wonderful that you were able to take a tour of Germany! Rothenburg and Berchtesgaden are two of my favorite spots. Happy baking and I hope you enjoy the French Almond Plum Cake as well!
Marta says
Kimberly, I love your recipe. It is almost that same as my grandmother’s. Would you please give me the dimensions of your pan ?
Also, on August 14, 2018, Katharina wrote to your about the yeast dough that you sink in a bucket. She mentioned 2 cubes of fresh yeast. How many packets or ounces or grams would that be of active dry yeast ?
Thank you very much.
All my best.
Marta
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Marta! The pan is about 13 x 18. I have the German kind that extends. You can use a pan that’s a little shorter or a little longer, depending on how thick or thin you want the cake crust. Yeast: If my memory serves me right one cube of fresh yeast is the equivalent of 2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast. But I would verify that before you try it :)
Marta Kasprzykowska says
Regarding the recipe by Katerina for Kuchen Drowned in a Bucket, how man packets or ounces of active dry yeast are there in 2 cubes of fresh yeast ?