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Austrian Plum Cake (Zwetschgenkuchen)
This simple cake showcases tangy-sweet summertime plums. Both red and black varieties works beautifully. Just make sure to choose ripe, medium plums that still have a little firmness; soft, ultra-juicy fruits will make the center of the cake wet and soggy. Italian prune plums are great, too; use the same weight. But since they are small, cut them into halves instead of quarters. Ripe but firm pluots, a plum-apricot hybrid, are another excellent alternative. The flavor and texture of this cake are best the day of baking, but leftovers can be stored overnight in an airtight container at room temperature.
8
Servings
Tip
Don't forget to allow time for the butter to soften. Cold, firm butter won't blend well into the dry ingredients. And don’t underbake this cake; the plums let off a lot of juice that slows down the baking, especially at the center. When testing for doneness, make sure there are no moist crumbs clinging to the toothpick.
1½ hours
10 minutes active
Ingredients
-
130
grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
-
107
grams (½ cup) white sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
Directions
-
01Heat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the middle position. Mist the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray, then dust evenly with flour; tap out the excess.
Reviews
August 19, 2026
plus cake
I haven't made this yet, but it look so good and so easy. I was wondering if anyone has tried this with gluten free flour, such as KAF measure for measure flour.
July 22, 2026
Sooooooo good!
This cake is perfection! Tastes ever better than it looks, and it looks amazing! I will make it again and again!
October 24, 2025
Wonderful Fruit Dessert
Delicious. A great combo between a cobbler and cake. Easy, quick. An hour was the ideal cooking time.
July 7, 2024
Simple and Delicious
Excellent cake, perfectly matches the tartness of the plums
June 14, 2023
Great recipe for stone fruit
I've made this a few times, with plums, apricots, and pluots, depending on availability. Not sure about the listed baking time. 40-45 minutes has been the ideal baking time for golden brown and clean toothpick. I've also made it in my Breville toaster oven, also came out great!
Wow, this was a simple but elegant cake! I say it is worthy of serving to house guests. The tricky part is getting plums that right sweetness. Plums are in season now, but the ones we got were a bit on the tart side, but little whip cream topping sweetened it right up. I had 8" springform and 10", so I used the 8" springform, I'm glad I did. I tried this with peaches a few days later using a 10" springform and found it was bid too flat, 8" or 9" is the way to go. As far as peaches go, it worked. I used a little brown sugar and cinnamon on peaches, the peach had nice caramelization to them. The cake looks beautiful, I will be proud to serve it or bring it to someone's diner party.
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Do you think this would work with peaches?