German Plum Streusel Cake
German Plum Streusel Cake is summer on a plate. This one is made with buttery shortcrust pastry, plums that get sweet and juicy when baked, releasing their flavour into the dough, while it keeps part of its crispness, making it a multilayered experience in every bite. Buttery sweet Streusel laced with marzipan top it all off, together with flaky almonds, for that extra crunch.
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Why You Will Love This
German Recipe
I grew up with German Plum Cake in all versions. From the yeast sheet pan cake with Streusel that my mom made every summer during damson season, to those made with eggy soft batter for the plums to sink into, bakery versions with shortbread base that was oddly tasteless and cardboardy and seemed to stay untouched by anything above it, separated basically from the cake.
To versions like mine: Buttery, crunchy crust, able to hold the juicy plums, taking on their juices, but not too much.
Streusel-Marzipan-Almond Topping
Topped with a generous amount of buttery sweet Streusel (kind of like crumble, if you never tried them), mixed with marzipan for that extra caramelized almond flavour, this plum cake becomes downright irresistable.
Healthy-ish. Go and try to convince me otherwise.
And while I’m using brown sugar here for extra caramelization and wholewheat flour for a hint of nuttiness and more nutrition, this is by no means diet fare. Though you could argue it has plums, so it must be healthy.
The Ingredients
You probably have everything at home, apart from the plums and maybe the marzipan, which is optional but delicious.
Flour, eggs, butter, sugar. Some panko breadcrumbs, vanilla and cinnamon. That’s all you need for the shortcrust and streusel.
I love brown sugar for extra caramel flavour and part whole wheat flour, but if you don’t have either, you can still make this with the white version of each.
Flaked almonds to top the cake add to the lovely streusel crunch.
The Process
The Crust
The butter for both crust and streusel needs to be cold, so you get the crunch we live for. You can mix by hand, ideally with cool hands and very quickly, so the gluten doesn’t develop, which would lead to a tougher texture.
If you have a food processor*, that’s ideal. First add all of the shortcrust ingredients, mix very quickly until you see it starting to come together. Take out, quickly form into a ball and wrap into clingfilm. Leave in the fridge for about 30 minutes while you prepare the rest.
Plums
The thing that takes longest here is cutting and destoning the plums. Which I tend to do while the shortcrust is resting in the fridge.
Cut the plums in half, remove the stone, if you like, cut then smaller. But since they soften beautifully when baked, it’s not necessary.
The Streusel topping
For the streusel, add all of their ingredients to the food processor* (no cleaning in between needed) and pulse until you have crumbs. Tip into a bowl and quickly lightly squish them in your hands, to form clumps. You want a good mix of smaller and bigger and some might just stay crumbs, totally fine. That will give you the perfect structure of some baking and melting into the plums, while others crisp up and caramelize on top, into the addictive streusel texture.
Be sure to snack on some, as they are just so good raw! I think one day I might just make a bowl of them on their own, to eat half raw, half baked as snack.
Layer your Plum Cake
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C)
I’m using a buttered springform*, the base of it lined with baking parchement, for easy removal later.
A really easy way to distribute cold shortcrust evenly is, to cut it into slices, lay them out, then push them together with your hands, creating a relatively even surface for the plums. Push it up about 1 inch on the sides.
Sprinkle the panko breadcrums over the crust.
Create an even layer of plums by stacking them at a diagonal, overlapping slightly and pushing them a tiny bit into the dough for stability.
Crumble the Streusel over the top, some smaller, some bigger clumps, to create an interesting structure.
Sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
Bake for about 45-50 minutes until lovely dark golden brown and crunchy on top.
To Serve
Classic German would be with whipped cream. Or vanilla ice cream. I’m not a fan of either (I know, I’m weird). So, I made a mix of fat free Greek yoghurt and added MyProtein Whey – Buttered Popcorn (not sponsored or affiliated, I just love that stuff!).
I mixed The powder in the protein shaker with 1/3 cup of creamy protein soy milk, so it reached custard consistency and flavour. Added a hint of cinnamon, stirred it into the Greek yoghurt and had a super creamy custard and cinnamon topping for my cake. Healthy too.
I didn’t include this in the ingredients, as it just feels way too easy and is optional.
The process is the same I used for many recipes on my blog, including my delicious Protein Banoffee Pie Yoghurt.
Meal Prep
It sounds a little weird to connect a dessert to meal prep, but frankly, having frozen plum cake when guests pop over can save the day!
I usually cut about half of the cake into slices and freeze them in little freezer proof plastic containers* (or Pyrex*, if you are less clumsy than me and don’t drop them at every opportunity) for a rainy day that needs a bit of summer feel.
This Plum cake will keep in the fridge for about 4 days and 3 months in the freezer. I wouldn’t leave it on the counter due to the high moisture content of the plums. Especially in summer.
Just quickly warm it up in the oven or air fryer* for a few minutes, to have an even crunchier crust and streusel mix.
Tip:
This is a weird, but necessary one I feel. If you are making this in late summer, which is peak plum season, close your windows. Otherwise, every wasp in a mile radius will smell the baked plums, come racing into your kitchen and demand their share.
Looking for more typical German recipes?
German Sourdough Rye Beer Dutch Oven Bread
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot.
German Plum Streusel Cake
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor optional
Ingredients
Shortcrust base
- ¾ cup plain white flour
- ¾ cup fine wholewheat flour
- ¼ cup +1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter + 1 tbsp
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs
Toppings
- 700 g plums
- 2 tbsp almond flakes
Streusel
- ½ cup butter + 1 tbsp
- ½ cup brown sugar I used dark brown here, as I love the molasses flavour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup plain white flour + 2 tbsp
- 0.5 cup marzipan
Instructions
Prepare the Crust
- In a bowl or your food processor, combine ¾ cup plain white flour, ¾ cup fine wholewheat flour, ¼ cup + 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1/8 tsp salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon for the shortcrust.
- Cut ½ cup + 1 tbsp butter into cubes and add it to the dry ingredients.
- For the food processor: mix very quickly until you see it starting to come together. Take out, form into a ball, and wrap in clingfilm.
- Without a food processor, use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs. Beat the egg and add it to the mixture, kneading lightly until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough ball in cling film.
- Store in the fridge for 30 minutes, while you prepare the rest.
- Half and destone the plums.
For the Streusel:
- Either in the food processor or in a separate bowl, mix ½ cup + 1 tbsp cold butter, 1 cup + 2 tbsp plain white flour, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Crumble the marzipan into it.
- If using the food processor, pulse until you have crumbs, then tip into a bowl and quickly squish with your hands into a mix of smaller and bigger clumps, while also leaving some finer mix. Take care not to mix too much and don’t warm it up with your hands.
- If you make the streusel in a bowl, rub everything together quickly, squishing lightly in the end, to form the Streusel. No perfection needed.
Assemble
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Grease a springform. Line the bottom with baking parchment.
- Press the dough into the bottom of a springform, ensuring an even layer, pushing it up the sides about 1in.
- Sprinkle 3 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs evenly over the dough.
- Arrange 700g halved and destoned plums on top of the breadcrumb layer, standing up, leaning against the springform sides, while pushing them very slightly into the dough for a bit of stability. Arrange in circles, starting from the outside.
- Evenly spread the streusel mixture over the plums in the tart pan.
- Sprinkle 2 tbsp almond flakes on top of the streusel.
Bake
- Place the tart pan in the preheated oven and bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the crust and streusel turn golden and the plums are tender.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and let the cake cool slightly before serving.
Notes
This is a weird, but necessary one I feel. If you are making this in late summer, which is peak plum season, close your windows. Otherwise, every wasp in a mile radius will smell the baked plums, come racing into your kitchen and demand their share. To store:
This plum cake lasts about 4 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.
I’m in love with this cake. It’s sweet but not too sweet. I like the crust, the tartness of the plums, and the crunchiness of the streusel altogether. It’s a win-win. It turned out perfect.
Like you, I will also argue it must be healthy because it uses all those plums! LOL
Thanks for the delicious recipe. I now have a fav way to use plums. 🙂
Thank you, so happy you like it and agree with my health justifications. 😀
I love plums and never thought to add it to a streusel! This recipe was perfect and delicious
Thank you 🙂
I always feel the streusel are the best thing. I used to eat them on their own when I was a kid. Ok…whom am I kidding, I still do…
Gorgeous, delicious and simply divine! Thanks for yet another amazing recipe!
Thank you so much 🙂
I love the addition of marzipan in the streusel topping. It adds the perfect amount floral almond flavor to complement the plums. Great recipe!
Thank you. I feel marzipan makes anything better. Like bacon, but in sweet.
A beautiful, delicious dessert!! The crumb topping was excellent!!!
Thank you 🙂
My German Father in Law used to make something similar but with those purple plums… Dreamy bite!
Zwetschgen I think you mean, as we call them in Germany. Damsons I believe in English. I used to sit in a tree with them and munch them by the handful. Only issue: wasps love them too.