PIZZA FOR BREAKFAST

ZWETSCHGENFLECK - AUSTRIAN PLUM CAKE - WITH AND WITHOUT STREUSEL

INGREDIENTS: Makes app. 10 large pieces Quantity for 20x30cm baking tray; use twice the amount for a 30x40cm tray For the Dough: Make sure to bring all ingredients to room temperature: 250g flour 125ml milk 50g butter 21g fresh yeast (1/2 cube) (I always use fresh!) 1 egg 40g granulated sugar pinch salt zest of 1/2 lemon butter for the cake tin

For the Topping: Option 1: PLUM CAKE WITHOUT STREUSEL app. 1.4 kg large prune plums (mine were pretty large, and I fitted 35 halves = 18 plums) app. 1 Tbsp sugar, use more for rather sour plums app. 1 tsp cinnamon icing sugar for dusting Option 2: PLUM CAKE WITH STREUSEL: app. 1.1 kg small to medium size prune plums (I fitted 63 halves = 32 plums) 150g flour 150g caster sugar 100g butter, cold-ish 1 Dsp Vanilla sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon additional cinnamon to sprinkle over plums icing sugar for dusting

METHOD: 4 GOLDEN RULES WHEN MAKING YEAST DOUGH: 1) before starting, bring all ingredients to room temperature 2) the milk must not be warmer than hand-warm; too hot might kill the yeast, too cold will mean the dough takes a long time to rise 3) avoid any draft or cold air while handling the dough or during resting time 4) do not open the oven door during the first 15 minutes of baking 1. Sieve the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle with a spoon. Warm the milk until just about hand-warm, app 30°C. Pour the milk into the flour well. Crumble in the yeast then add 2 pinch of the sugar. Stir the yeast inside the milk with a spoon, incorporating a little and just enough of the surrounding flour to make a thick pancake-like dough. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave to rest for app. 30 mins. 2. After this time the yeast should have become active and the dough risen. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl, then beat vigorously. This can be done with a kitchen machine or hand mixer, but I prefer to do it the good old fashioned way with a wooden spoon: the dough is beaten in circular http://pizzaforbreakfasts.blogspot.be/2012/09/zwetschgenfleck-austrian-plum-cake-with.html

movements, but with the circular movement not happening inside the bowl, but at 90 degree to the bowl and work surface: in as fast movements as possible, starting from one side of the bowl (right), go downwards into the dough, drag the spoon through the dough to the other side of the bowl (left) then move up on the left, following the circular movement, and back down on the right, and so on, turning the bowl as you go, until a soft elastic dough forms. The dough is very soft and sticky and for this reason I keep it in the bowl at all times until baking. It cannot be kneaded on the work surface. 3. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise and double which may take up to 1 hour depending on the room temperature. Once risen, beat out the air so that the dough returns to its original size, then cover and leave to double once more. 4. Towards the end of the second rise, start to pre-heat the oven to 180C. Grease the baking tin with butter. Put the dough into the tin using a dough scraper if necessary. Slightly flour your hands, then with your fingers pat the dough out inside the tin until it fully covers the bottom of the tin. Keep putting more flour on your hands if necessary as you go along to avoid the dough from sticking to the fingers. Toppings: with or without Streusel Option 1: PLUM CAKE WITHOUT STREUSEL (CRUMBLE): 5. Wash the plums, pat them dry, then cut them in half along the visible 'line' and remove the stones. Make an incision in each half, app. half way into the plum. Arrange the plums in the tin on top of the dough so that they overlap slightly. I do a row of plums to see how many are required per row, then divide the number of plums I have by the number of plums per row to work out the number of rows I can lay. This ensures I don't run out of plums at the end or I have a big amount left over. When using a bigger amount of plums, they fit in by just overlapping the rows a bit more. 6. Mix 1 Tbsp sugar (or more if prune plums are rather sour) with app. 1 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over the plums. 7. Put the tray in the pre-heated oven and bake for app. 30-40 min. A wooden skewer inserted and removed should have no bits of dough attached when the cake is baked. Cover with foil towards the end of the baking time to avoid the plums from browning too much if necessary. 8. Serve sprinkled with icing sugar and maybe a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream on the side. The neutral cream goes very well with the sweet and tangy cake. Option 2: PLUM CAKE WITH STREUSEL (CRUMBLE): 9. Follow step 5 above for the plums. 10. For the Streusel put the flour, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla sugar (I grind mine first into finer powder using a Mortar & Pestle) into a bowl. Cut the cold butter into little pieces and add on top. Using your fingertips, start to crumble the mixture until it resembles bread crumbs. 11. Once the plums are arranged on top of the dough, sprinkle with a little cinnamon then add the Streusel on top. 12. Put in the pre-heated oven and bake for app. 30-40 min. A wooden skewer inserted and removed should have no bits of dough attached when the cake is baked, and the Streusel is golden-brown. If necessary cover with kitchen foil towards the end of the baking time to avoid dark browning of the top. Very nice on day 2 and 3 when warmed for a few seconds in the microwave. Serve sprinkled with icing sugar or a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream on the side.

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