Vegan Summer! Traditional Plum Cake

By Pam Hadder

The arrival of prune plums from British Columbia is a luscious reminder of late summer's bounty.  For me it conjures memories of riding my bike down dusty gravel country roads and feasting on pflaumenkuchen (German plum cake) at a family friend's farm house.

I'm told that kuchen is the official state dessert of North Dakota, but the sugar-and-baking powder-laden recipes I've seen to support that claim are unlike the yeast-dough based version I knew and loved as a kid.  Although my Mom is of German heritage, her Russian mother never made kuchen in the home.  But Mom recalls that many of her relatives made it, using fruits in season.  

My favourite is the plum kuchen, pflaumenkuchen - like much European baking, it is not overly sweet, and this allows the fruit to shine, and you can enjoy it's natural sweetness.  Of course, I searched numerous online resources and "veganized" my recipe to eliminate eggs and dairy.  The result was absolutely delightful, and dear Mom is still talking about it over a week later!  Hoping you will try this recipe and enjoy it in the very best of health. xo

VEGAN SUMMER-TRADITIONAL PLUM CAKE
(Pflaumenkuchen)

Ingredients - Dough
1 pkg active dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp)
1/4 cup warm water, with 1 tsp sugar
2 flax eggs or other vegan substitute (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup soy or almond milk
1/2 cup vegan butter (Earth Balance baking sticks)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 ground mace, or nutmeg
Zest of one lemon
Few drops canola oil

Ingredients - Streusel Topping
1-1/2 to 2 lb pitted, halved fresh prune plums
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
2 Tbsp. vegan butter or soft vegan margarine (I use Becel, vegan)

Method:
Add pkg yeast to 1/4 cup warm water with 1 tsp. sugar added; let stand 10 minutes. Prepare egg subs and gradually beat in the 1/4 cup of white sugar, beating until well combined and frothy (1 minute, with hand whisk). Place 1/2 cup vegan butter and soy/almond milk into a medium microwave-proof bowl and heat 4-5 minutes on med-high power to melt the butter into the milk - remove from microwave and allow to cool 15-20 minutes at room temp. Once milk mixture is lukewarm, combine 1 cup of the flour along with the vegan egg subs and yeast in a large bowl.  Add in the milk mixture along with the lemon, mace, salt and the remaining flour.  Stir briefly with a sturdy spoon to combine the dough ingredients.  When a ball starts to form, gently knead and combine the ingredients with your hands.  Turn the dough out onto a smooth surface and knead for 4-5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.  Place dough in a lightly oiled large bowl. Wet a clean cotton tea towel and wring it out thoroughly, cover the dough in the bowl with the damp towel - towel should not touch the rising dough. Set dough aside and allow to rise - about 45 minutes. During this time, halve and pit the prune plums; set aside. Prepare the streusel topping also, combining sugar, flour, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl, and cutting the margarine in with a fork or pastry blender to resemble coarse bread crumbs; set aside.

Portion the dough in half and press into two 9" round cake pans - dough will be about 2" thick, just pat it into place as evenly as possible, creating a slight ridge on the perimeter of each to form a crust ring around the fruit. Arrange fruit by pressing the cut side down into the dough - dough will make squishy sounds as you push the fruit in, be sure to push them in quite firmly :) Using your hands, spread the streusel over the fruit.  Cover your cakes very loosely with plastic wrap (you don't want to lose that delicious streusel to the clingy plastic!). Allow to rise 45 minutes, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake cakes for 30 minutes.  Delicious right out of the oven with a dab of vegan ice cream or as-is - good cold and also freezes well.  Any leftover plums (pitted and halved) can be frozen for later use also.  Try substituting other fruit in season - apples, berries, peaches; etc.

Yield: two nine-inch round cakes - recipe is easily halved :)