Sourdough Plum Cake

It's plum season again. Here is my recipe for a traditional German plum cake, but with a crust made of sourdough instead of a regular yeast dough. This cake is great for hot summer days; it's tart and not too sweet.

Where I come from in Germany, a traditional meal is potato soup with plum or prune cake. While this combination sounds a bit unusual, it goes really well together.

Ingredients

• 1 lb 2 oz / 500 g bread flour
• 2 oz / 60 g sourdough starter
• ¼ cup / 60 ml vegetable oil
• 1 cup and 1 tbsp / 250 ml milk
• 2 oz / 60 g sugar (for the dough)
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 oz / 90 g breadcrumbs
• about 4-5 lb / 2 kg plums
• 1 tbsp plum brandy
• 4 oz / 120 g sugar (for the syrup)
• ⅓ cup / 80 ml water
• butter for the baking sheet

Preparation

1. In a mixing bowl, mix together bread flour, sourdough starter, vegetable oil, milk, sugar and salt.
2. Knead with a dough hook until you have a smooth and elastic dough.
3. Form a ball, thinly coat with vegetable oil, cover and let rise in a warm place until the volume has doubled. Depending on the starter, this can take a few hours.
4. Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C.
5. Grease a large baking sheet (I use a 15 in / 40 cm pizza pan) with butter.
6. Roll out the dough and place it on the sheet. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs.
7. Quarter the plums and place the quarters on the sheet so that the tips stick up.
8. Sprinkle with plum brandy.
9. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the crust has turned golden brown. Remove from oven.
10. In a pan, combine sugar and water. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes.
11. Brush the top of the cake with the sugar syrup.