Mom's plum cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 250 g flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 100 g sugar
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 1 egg(s)
• 3 tbsp water
• 150 g butter, cold
• 1,200 g plums
• 40 g rusks
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 25 g butter flakes

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

In memory of the best mom in the world

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan/convection oven. For the shortcrust pastry, mix together the flour, salt, vanilla sugar, and sugar. Make a small well in the center and add the egg and water. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and place it in the bowl. Then knead everything into a smooth dough using your hands or a mixer fitted with a dough hook. If you like, chill the dough in the refrigerator for about an hour. This makes it easier to roll out and place in the springform pan. We usually pour the dough in portions directly into the buttered springform pan (28 cm diameter) and press down with our fingers to ensure an even base and edges. If you’re worried about not being able to remove the cake from the pan in one piece, you can place a piece of baking paper in the bottom of the pan. Once the springform pan has been lined with pastry, it’s best to set it aside until chilled while you prepare the plums. When pitting the plums, it’s best to cut the plums in half lengthwise, open them up, and remove the stones. Then make a 1cm deep cut in the top of the narrower end of the plum halves. This will allow the plums to unfold evenly and be spread out on the cake. Now layer the plums open in the baking tin with the cut side towards the center, always along the edge. This creates a circular pattern that finally closes in the middle of the cake. Put the rusks in a plastic bag (e.g. zip lock bag) and crumble them with a rolling pin. There should be some small pieces left over, so you don’t end up with rusk flour. Put the rusk crumbs in a bowl and mix with the sugar and cinnamon. Then spread this mixture evenly over the plums. Finally, scatter the butter flakes evenly over the cake. Place the cake in the oven on the second to last rack from the bottom and bake for 45-50 minutes. The plum cake tastes best when still lukewarm with whipped cream. Tip: This plum cake is my mother’s family recipe and is still a staple at every family celebration. So we can enjoy it together all year round, we freeze several portions of pitted plums every fall.