This is the second recipe of this popular Austrian cake. The first recipe with yeast, that I already blogged about, was an amazing combination of rich and tender dough contrasted by tartness of Italian prune plums. Today’s recipe is based on short crust dough, very similar to fruit pie dough that is popular in Canada and US. If that is of any importance, this recipe is far easier and faster to make than the yeast recipe.
At this part of the year in late summer and early fall the plum cake is a common front display in almost all Austrian coffee shops. Understandably so, many variations of this recipe can be found, but the one I am presenting today is quite unique. It is based on the recipe that is served at “Café Sperl“, one of Vienna’s landmark coffeehouses, opened in 1880! When somebody has been in business for 140 years they must have been doing something right!
The recipe has been adapted from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from The Classic Cafes of Vienna, Budapest and Prague“.
| Prep Time | 25 minutes |
| Cook Time | 50-55 minutes |
| Passive Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
servings
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- 2 3/4 cups all purpose non bleached flour
- 210 g confectioner's sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 300 g unsalted butter cold, cut into thin slices
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 570 g Italian prune plums cut in half lengthwise and pitted
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar for sprinkling
- 1/2 cup apricot preserves
- 1 tbsp golden Rum
Ingredients
Cake
Apricot Glaze
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- In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and salt.
- Using pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- In a small bowl, mix together egg and vanilla extract. Add to the dry ingredients and mix with fork or wooden spoon just until the mixture starts to clump together. Finish off with your hands by quickly forming a dough. Don't overwork it! Just need to obtain roughly shaped, compact dough.
- Form a flat, thick square, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 176°C (350°F), rack in the middle.
- Lightly butter a 42 x 30 x 2.5 cm (17"x 12"x 1") baking pan.
- Line a counter with plastic wrap covering the area little bigger than the baking pan. The plastic wrap will stick flat to the surface. Dust it with flour and roll out the dough in a rectangular shape, close to the baking pan size.
- Fit the dough firmly and evenly into the baking pan, pressing the dough to the sides and corners of the pan, making sure that the plastic wrap stays on the outside, on the top of the dough. The plastic wrap will insure the integrity of the dough during the transfer to the pan. It will also allow for proper fitting of the pan while preventing sticking to your fingers and accidental tear of the dough. Carefully peel off the plastic wrap.
- Top the dough with rows of halved plums, skin side down. Sprinkle with the granulated sugar.
- Bake until the crust is golden brown, 50-55 minutes. Cool completely.
- Add the apricot preserve and rum in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes until the glaze thickens slightly. Strain the glaze through a wire sieve into a small bowl, pressing hard on solids using the back of the spoon.
- Brush the top of cake with the warm apricot glaze, let it cool off.
- Serve by cutting the cake in large squares.
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