German Plum Tart

This German Plum Tart has many names depending on where in Germany you live. Pflaumenkuchen in some places. In Bavaria, it’s called zwetschgendatschi. Here in our corner of Nordrhein-Westfalen, it’s called Pflaumenfladen, and in our region, it’s just shortened to “Fla.”

We have three gorgeous plum trees on our property. The Mirabelles are over now, but we still have these little late-summer purple prune plums, or zwetschgen aplenty. So this will be the first of a few plum-centric posts until the end of the month.

My mother-in-law, Fine was making several of these tarts, so I got all up in her baking business to “help”. Of course, she really doesn’t need my help. She has been making this treat for the last 60-odd years. I used “helping” as an excuse to learn from the master plum tart maker in the family.

Plum Thieves

The day before, I had done my harvest penance.  Dragging out the ladder to pick the ones near the tops of the trees she could not reach with the picker.  This turned into a comedy of sorts. As I was grabbing the branches to pull the plums off, several would fall to the ground. Fine would go around with her bucket, picking up the ones that dropped. However, behind her back, Lucy the sheep and Rosalie the dwarf goat would each snatch a plum out of the bucket to scarf down.

So after some instruction from Fine, I put myself in charge of properly slicing the plums. They are cut in a way to make them stand to attention on the tart. You slice from the stem all the way around. Then again crosswise in the other direction, but only halfway down the plum.

100 Year-old Pan

As I worked, Fine entertained me with family stories. Her mom was a cook for a family, and Fine grew up in the kitchen at her knee. What really blew me away was the 100-year-old pan she has and still uses. This has been passed down from her step-grandmother, whose maiden name is Dreissen. Fine showed me the D molded into the bottom of the pan.

I can’t even begin to imagine how many plum tarts have been made in this pan

Print

German Plum Tart (My MIL's Recipe)

Course Dessert

Cuisine German

Keyword Damson Plum Recipes, fall recipes, German desserts, German Plum Tart, Low Sugar Tart, Plum Tart

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 20 minutes

Rise Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes

Servings 8

Author Lora Wiley-Lennartz

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon fresh yeast or dry yeast equivalent
• 1 med egg yolk
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons vanilla sugar or one tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• pinch salt
• 5 lbs prune plums
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup margarine or vegetable shortening
• 1 tablespoon unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream optional
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Put the flour, fresh yeast, egg yolk, salt, 1/4 cup white granulated sugar, and vanilla sugar together in a bowl.

2. Do NOT mix. Cover the bowl and set aside for a half hour in a warm place.

3. Cut the plums by scoring from the stem all the way lengthwise around the plum. However, take care to leave each fruit in one piece.
   

4. Discard the pit. Turn the plum 180 degrees, then score in the opposite direction, only halfway down this time.

5. Repeat until all the plums have even scored.

6. Warm the milk slightly, taking care not to boil it. Add the milk and margarine or vegetable shortening to the flour mixture. Knead the mixture thoroughly.

7. Cover the bowl. Set aside in a warm place for 20 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.

8. Grease and flour a 10-inch tart pan. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F.

9. Roll the dough out into a circle and transfer it to the pan. Crimp the edges to fit the pan.

10. Puncture the bottom of the tart dough several times with a fork.

    

11. Sprinkle one heaping tablespoon of breadcrumbs evenly over the bottom of the crust. This helps absorb the juice from the plums to prevent a soggy crust.

12. Starting from the outer edges, lay the plums on top of the crust. The cut tips should point up.

    

13. Let the tart stand in a warm place for 15 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes.

14. After removing the tart from the oven, immediately sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar over the top.

15. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Then beat in the powdered sugar. Tranfer to a bowl.

16. Remove the tart from the pan and transfer to a serving plate. Serve with the whipped cream on the side.

So, do you like this German Plum Tart? Then also check out some of these other delicious recipes:

PLUM STREUSEL ICE CREAM

PEANUT CARAMEL PLUM CAKE

PLUM CARDAMOM MARZIPAN STRUDEL