This delicious cake is also known as a kuchen is based on a recipe from the Grand Central Baking Book. I made this cake with plums and chose to name it the name Fresh Plum Cake. This is a great breakfast cake, it's not too sweet and full of delicious fruit.
How to Make a Yeast Cake
The final cake tastes like a cross between a cake and a bread. There is only 1/2 sugar compared to over 3 cups of flour, which means this cake is hardly sweet and makes the perfect breakfast cake. The other nice thing about this cake is that if don't have plums it can be made with your favorite fresh or frozen fruit.
This cake is easy to make and makes a great breakfast treat for the holidays or a family get together. Everything is mixed together by hand. If making this cake for breakfast or brunch allow enough time for the cake to rise, about 1 hour depending on your room temperature.
After the yeast is added to the warm milk and butter mixture allow it to sit for about 10 minutes to ferment. These are the signs of good fermentation:
- The mixture is bubbly
- It increases in volume
- It has a sweet, yeasty odor
If there are no bubbles or the volume doesn't increase those are signs of little fermentation. You may need to let the mixture sit for a few more minutes or you may have yeast is too old and has died. If there are no bubbles or yeasty smell you will most likely need to start over with fresh yeast.
Let the cake rise in a warm area 70 - 80 degrees F. I have a proofing function on my oven which heats up to 70 degrees. Another way to do it is to preheat your oven and sit the cake dough on top of the stove.
After the cake has risen layer the fruit on top. The great thing about this cake is that you can use almost any fruit. You can use in-season fruit or frozen fruit like strawberries. Gently layer the fruit on top so you don't deflate the cake too much.
Serving the Plum Cake
When the cake is done baking remove it from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes and use the parchment sling to lift the cake from the pan. Glaze the cake with the lemon glaze and serve while warm. The cake is will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for 2 days.
If you make these cookies please take a picture and tag me on Instagram @bakesbybrownsugar and use the hashtag #bakesbybrownsugar.
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Plum Yeast Cake
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup (98 grams) packed dark brown sugar
- 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups (500 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Topping
- 3-4 large plums cut into 6 pieces each
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) turbinado sugar
- 4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup (120 grams) confectioner’s sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Lightly butter and flour a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Line it with parchment paper so it overhangs the long sides of the pan.
- Combine the milk, brown sugar and 10 tablespoons of the butter in a 3 or 4-quart non-reactive stainless saucepan. The mixture will be 110 degrees F and the butter will be almost melted. Add the yeast, gently stir and let the mixture stand for 10 minutes. The yeast should produce bubbles and look slightly expanded. Both are signs that sufficient fermentation has taken place and you can proceed with the next steps.
For the Batter
- Measure the flour, salt and ground cinnamon in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Whisk the eggs lightly to break them up. Pour the eggs and the milt mixture over the flour and gently stir with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula mixing until the wet ingredients are incorporated and no white flour remains visible. Spread the batter in the prepared pan cover with plastic wrap.
- If you are baking the cake right away put the dough in a warm spit and let rise for 1 hour. The dough will be doubled in height. My oven has a proofing setting. If you don’t have a proofing setting you can turn on your oven to preheat and leave the cake on top of the stove. If you are baking the cake later, refrigerate it for up to 8 hours.
Prepare the Plums
- While the dough is rising, wash the plums and cut each plum into 6 pieces. Set aside in a bowl.
Bake the Cake
- Ten minutes before the cake has finishing rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter. Arrange the plums on top in groups of 3, then sprinkle evenly with the turbinado sugar. Drizzle the butter over the top.
- Bake the cake for 30 minutes, then rotate the pan and lower the temperature to 325 degrees F and bake for 10 to 10 minutes more. The top should be golden brown and the cake should begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Lemon Glaze
- While the cake is baking, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice and stir until no powdered sugar lumps remain. Drizzle the glaze over the warm cake and serve.
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