Plum cake / plum pie

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 300 g flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar, optional
• 125 g butter, unsalted
• 125 g yogurt, 10% fat, or sour cream
• 750 g plums
• 2 tbsp, heaped plum jam, can only be replaced with another plum jam
• 2 tbsp vanilla pudding powder or cornstarch, slightly heaped tbsp
• 1 tsp, leveled cinnamon powder
• 1 egg(s)
• Fat and breadcrumbs for the form

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

I used a pie plate with a removable bottom. A 26- or 28-cm springform pan will also work. Grease the pan and dust with breadcrumbs. Mix together the flour, salt, and sugar, if desired. Cut the butter into cubes and let it stand for 5 minutes so it’s not quite as cold as it used to be from the refrigerator. Add the butter to the flour and mix and rub it in with your hands until it’s as finely crumbly as breadcrumbs. This ensures that all the flour particles are coated with fat and that as few gluten strands as possible form after the yogurt is added. This should make the dough fluffier and less tough to bake. Then knead in the yogurt and possibly a little more water until the dough has the soft consistency of play dough. Keep the kneading time as short as possible; small visible bits of fat are okay. Halve the dough and flatten each half into discs about 15 cm in diameter. Store the dough in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic wrap. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (top/bottom heat). Wash, drain, quarter, and stone the plums, and mix with the plum jam, vanilla pudding powder, and cinnamon. Roll out one disc of dough on a lightly floured surface into a round disc 4 cm larger in diameter than the bottom of the tin. Place the dough in the tin and form the rim 2 cm high. Pour in the plum mixture and smooth it out. Roll out the other disc of dough to serve as a lid and place it on top. Press the edges of the dough down firmly. If using a tart tin, trim any excess pastry from the top edge. Use an apple corer or a knife to cut out three holes the size of a 50-cent piece to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush the lid with a little beaten egg to give the cake a golden shine. Bake the plum cake on the lowest rack in the oven for about 30 minutes. Then let the cake cool for about 15 minutes before removing it from the pan. The cake tastes best with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.