This month's recipe is from Cathy Bourner, whose great grandmother was from Monchoff. Unfortunately the family's recipes have been lost, but they were quite similar to some of the "German Dishes" featured in Country Gentleman Magazine of Philadelphia in , and those were preserved by Cathy's great aunt.


PFLAUMEN KUCHEN / PLUM CAKE
(from Cathy Bourner)

Ingredients-dough:
  • 1 cake of compressed yeast
  • 2 cups of barely lukewarm water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 cups bread flour
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • up to 1/4 cup shortening (to grease pans)
Ingredients-plum topping:
  • 2 cups of canned plums
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbsp. flour
  • approx. 1 Tbsp. sugar, held in reserve
Preparation:

Crumble the yeast into 2 cups of lukewarm water and add 1/2 cup sugar, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt and 2 well beaten eggs. Blend. Then measure out 6 cups of flour. Add half of it to the yeast mixture together with 1/3 cup melted butter. Beat hard. Mix in the rest of the flour. Knead for a few moments until the dough is smooth.

Let the dough rise in a covered bowl until it doubles in bulk --- about 2 hours. Punch it down and let it rise until it doubles again in bulk. Pat or roll the dough out to 1 inch thickness, then transfer it to a floured pie plate or greased cake pan. Alternately, form the dough into an oblong loaf to fit a long greased loaf pan, or make into smaller round loaves and fit into greased pie pans (Ed. large cupcake tins?).

(continued on page 2)

Dot with 2 cups of canned plums which have been seeded and cut into pieces. Make a sauce by mixing 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup sour cream, 1 beaten egg, and 2 tablespoons of flour. Spread the plums carefully with the sauce onto the loaf/loaves. Let loaves rise until very light. Sprinkle with sugar, and bake in a moderate oven (375° F) for 40-45 minutes.

Notes:
Cut into wedge-shaped pieces or oblongs and serve hot or cold.