Traditional German Plum Cake (Zwetschgenkuchen) Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

What is the tradition of the plum cake? ›

The plum cake's history can be traced back to medieval England, where the weeks leading up to Christmas, called Advent, saw a period of self-denial, fasting and abstinence. This was supposed to prepare the body for the festive season of feasts and indulgences, and also to save food for the celebrations.

Dundee cake is from Dundee in Scotland and it is quite different from a regular plum cake for so many reasons. The major difference is that we won't be soaking fruits for this cake. Dry fruits are added as it is in the batter. IT saves a lot of time and effort.

Plum cake usually contains rum as an ingredient along with various nuts, olives, and apricots. The alcohol ingredient is responsible for its higher cost and a peculiar yet awesome taste. Plum cake is generally costlier since it has loads of nuts n berries.

A Fruit Cake is a normal vanilla cake with fruits in it. Whereas a Plum Cake is made with dry fruits soaked in alcohol/orange juice for more than a day. A Fruit Cake's colour is white to yellowish inside, whereas a Plum Cake's colour is brown to dark brown inside.

The term "plum cake" and "fruit cake" have become interchangeable. Since dried fruit is used as a sweetening agent and any dried fruit used to be described as "plums", many plum cakes and plum puddings do not contain the plum fruit now known by that name.

According to custom, on the eve of Christmas, a rich porridge was cooked and eaten to “line the stomach” for the upcoming feast. The porridge, said to have been made with oats, dried fruits, spices, honey, and sometimes even meat, can be called the grandfather of the Christmas — or plum cake.

After 1830 plum cake was often referred to as fruit cake or black cake. In 1885, in a description of plum cake that sounds like plum pudding, it was described as "mucilaginous" (gluey) – a solid, dark-colored, thick cake with copious amounts of plums, gritty notes from raisins.

Dundee Cake had strong association to the geographical area through the marmalade makers Keillers of Dundee. Keillers used their surplus orange peel from their marmalade production to create the Dundee Cake. The cake was made as a rich buttery sultana cake flavoured with orange peel and almonds.

Today, Dundee cake remains one of the most popular Scottish food and drink specialties – alongside shortbread, whisky and black pudding. It is said that the cake was originally made for Mary Queen of Scots in the 16th century.

Plums are rich in various nutrients, which make plum cakes a healthy food choice despite being a dessert.

What is the most expensive cake in the United States? ›

You've heard of $900 cupcakes and $34,000 puddings. But a birthday cake loaded with diamonds and hand-sculpted fondant just smashed the record for the most expensive dessert ever created. Price tag: $75 million.

Being a good source of a variety of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, potassium and magnesium, they support bone health, muscle function and immune system, adds Nanavati. Experts say that homemade plum cakes are a healthier option that can give us additional nutritional benefits.

If you use a cup rather than a scale there's a good chance you're using too much flour: up to 20% too much, if you use the measuring cup as a scoop then tamp the flour down. Any baked good — especially cake —with too much flour will be dry, hard, crumbly …

Plum cake is a delightful confection that harmoniously blends the rich flavours of ripe plums with a moist and tender cake base. This delectable treat boasts a pleasing contrast between the slightly tart essence of the plums and the gentle sweetness of the cake, creating a symphony of tastes with each bite.

The story of Christmas cakes in India starts way back in 1883, when a British planter in Thalassery, Murdoch Brown asked the local baker, Mambally Bapu to taste the rich plum cake he had brought from England. Brown explained the baking process, and asked Bapu to prepare a similar cake for him.

Plum cake traces its origins to medieval England, where a fasting tradition preceded Christmas. This practice aimed to prepare the body for the festive indulgence on Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve, a porridge-like dish, considered the precursor to plum cake, was prepared.

“Since individuals fasted in the weeks before Christmas to prepare their bodies for the excess on Christmas day, plum cake has been a part of Christmas traditions since the Middle Ages. Dried plums are soaked in brandy or rum for several months, giving plum cakes their thick structure and somewhat bitter flavour.”

The Origins of the Plum Cake

On Christmas Eve, a thick porridge called plum pottage or porridge was cooked using oats, beef, spices, and dried fruits. A pudding version of this later appeared during the Tudor era using suet, breadcrumbs, flour, dried fruits, honey, milk, and eggs and was called plum pudding.

Humble beginnings. Christmas cake began life in the Middle Ages - as plum porridge! Christmas Eve was a day of religious fasting, and this was a hearty meal afterwards, with a consistency more like that of a pottage or soup, made of boiled beef, fruit and spices, then thickened with bread and oats.