Plum cake! Mmhh...

I always get a bit homesick when there is a change in season. When I see daffodils bloom in Spring they remind me of a city park in my hometown. Every year there is an ocean of daffodils and tulips. 

In summer I love the smell of fresh rain evaporating on the warmed streets because it bring back memories of jumping in puddles with just a bathing suit and rubber boots. Oh, and the taste of sweet freshly picked strawberries! Delicious! 

Fall brings beautiful colours and a reminder that things move on. And there are the plums, here they call them prune plums. My family used to make sheets and sheets of plum cake or plum sauce. We had a tree in our garden and we were never able to use them all. The bugs took care of the rest. In the middle of fall I buy the plums here at the store, the only time in the year when they have them, and bake some cake that reminds me of home so much. Then I make enough to freeze some and enjoy it again on a cold winter day. Mmmhhh...

Here is the recipe from my Dr. Oetker cook book:   

Plum cake recipe

Ingredients:

800g Plum prunes

For the dough: 

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

zest from 1 lemon

125 g soft butter

2 eggs

For the crumbs (streusel):

1 cup of flour

1/3 cup sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

100 g soft butter

Directions:

1. Wash the plums, pad them dry. Cut plums in half or quarters and take out the pit. Grease the bottom of a Springform (round pan). Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. For the dough, mix flour and baking powder in large bowl. Add all other ingredients and mix on low then on high for about 2 minutes or until dough is smooth. 
3. Fill the dough into pan. Arrange plums on top of dough (lay a circular pattern). 
4. For the Streusel, mix flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a separate bowl and add the butter. Mix until it is crumbly. Spread crumbs on top of plums. 
5. Bake for 50 minutes.

Variations: Use 800g of apples or 500g canned peaches instead of plums.