Pflaumehkucken

My grandma Etta's German Plum Cake was a little taste of heaven on earth. I knew when she made it she loved me and that summer was coming to an end. It's a recipe she learn from my German great grandma Camilla. My mom made it every fall, I've made it for my kids and now they are getting old enough to start making it for theirs. For me this is German comfort food. Traditionally it is served at German coffee or tea. We enjoy it for dessert or as a breakfast cake.

1 small batch of any good sweet yeast dough (enough for one standard batch of cinnamon rolls)

3 cups of homemade vanilla pudding

1 pound of Italian plums, pitted and sliced (if you can't find these you can use small black plums)

Streusel  (topping)

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

Mix together till crumbly

Make up the sweet dough and let rise until ready to shape. Dough can be rolled out to fit a 9x13 baking pan or a half sheet jelly roll pan. Grease pan and line with dough so that dough comes about half the way the sides of pan.

Pour cooked pudding onto the dough. Lay the plums on top of the pudding with the skins side down. They can be placed in rows or decoratively, however you choose. Make up streusel and sprinkle over plums to cover. You do not have to use all of the streusel, but it's yummier if you do.

Let rise 45 minutes, then bake at 375 F for 30 minutes or until crust is done.

For Apple Tart - use about 5 pipen apples in place of the plums.  Peal and slice apples thin. Any tart fruit is good in this cake, such as cherries or apricots.

Re-commitment

Over the last few months, blogging has not been high on my list. Between our move to the Great Northwest and getting distracted with FB, (a sin I know and I beg for forgiveness) I have completely let the blog go, well I am back and I am re-inviting you posters to get back here too. It is the season for food and time to get recommitted.

With our move, cooking was put on the back burner, (another sin I know) but as I unpacked I realized all the great cookbooks I have and all the recipes in those books that I have never gotten around to trying. Like many other people, I love to read cookbooks like some read a good novel. My first love in the kitchen is baking so I decided to start there with a book my husband gave me for Christmas a few years ago, Baking At Home with The Culinary Institute of America. My goal is to try and follow the recipes without changing them, and learn new techniques. I am learning new technique, but I am having trouble with the "changing recipe" part. A friend told me not to worry about that because I was just making each recipe my own and she is right I am, so I am just going to keep trying. It seems I always have to put my two cents in which can be good and bad. So far I am happy with my two cents, but try the recipes and see what you think and maybe add your two cents. I added to my weight with the move so my next goal I think will be to try and not gain too much weight as I crack open these books, Ha, we'll see how long that lasts.

It's time to get cooking!

Recipes to Share

I have always enjoyed food, whether cooking it or eating it. I have been teased for making sounds as I enjoy a tasty meal. I love to cook and at times it has been a great help and therapy. My family knows when they find me in the kitchen at 10 o'clock at night whipping up a batch of cookies or bread, either I am stressed and working through it or it's time to invite friends over for a party. As a child I was encouraged to be open minded and always willing to taste new foods and try new recipes. As a mom of 7, I know meal time can be challenging, which is why I am starting this blog. This is a place where we can come as friends and share recipes, ideas and hints to help us with mealtime or anytime. Life is to short to not enjoy the food along the way.