Austrian Plum Squares – Zwetschkenflecken
Plums baked on a short crust dough!
Servings Prep Time
12-16servings 25minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
50-55minutes 1hour
Servings Prep Time
12-16servings 25minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
50-55minutes 1hour
Ingredients
Cake
Apricot Glaze
Instructions
Cake
  1. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and salt.
  2. Using pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
  3. 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.
  4. Form a flat, thick square, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  5. Preheat the oven to 176°C (350°F), rack in the middle.
  6. Lightly butter a 42 x 30 x 2.5 cm (17″x 12″x 1″) baking pan.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Top the dough with rows of halved plums, skin side down. Sprinkle with the granulated sugar.
  10. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 50-55 minutes. Cool completely.
Apricot Glaze
  1. 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.
  2. Brush the top of cake with the warm apricot glaze, let it cool off.
  3. Serve by cutting the cake in large squares.