This type of cake is just about a National Tradition all over Germany when the plums are ripe. My mother made it with different fruits....apple, plum, or peaches. Sometimes, for variation, whe used to use two different fruits on one sheet of dough. One half with plums and the other half with apples. Delicious as a coffee cake or wonderful for breakfast snd a good cup of coffee!
(I like to use the richer version of the recipe.)

Sweet Roll Dough and Variation **

Rich Dough: For Jule Kake, Cinnamon Loaf, Raised
Doughnuts, Raisin Bread -- Swedish Tea Ring, etc.
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
2 reg. cakes compressed, or 2 pkgs. dry gran. yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk, scalded
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, or 4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon lemon rind, packed
1/3 cup butter -- or margarine
1/2 teaspoon mace or ground cardamon, optional

Richer Dough: For Rich Rolls, Pecan Rolls, Coffee Cakes,
etc. -- (I sift 5 cups flour)**
4 1/4 to 4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour -- (I use 6 teasp. gran.)
2 reg. cakes compresses or 2 pkgs. dry gran. yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk. scalded -- (I use 3/4 cup)
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs or 4 yolks
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind, packed
1/2 cup butter or margarine -- (I use 2/3 cup)
1/2 teaspoon mace or ground cardamon, optional

Sift flour once, then measure and use the first amount for coffee cakes, rolls, etc., the second amount for bread. Crumble compressed or turn granulated yeast into lukewarm water, stir in 1 teaspoon of the sugar and let soften ten minutes.

Put milk with rest of sugar and salt in top of double boiler and place over hot water to scald. Cool to lukewarm in a 4-quart mixing bowl, then stir in yeast mixture and beaten eggs.

Add half the flour and beat hard with rotary beater or electric mixer, then beat in cooled shortening, rind and spices, if used. (Cardamon is especilly nice in coffee cake.) Now gradually stir in all but 1/4 cup flouruntil well mixed in.

Cover, let stand 10 minutes to stiffen, then turn out onto board or pastry cloth sprinkled with remaining 1/4 cup flour. Knead thoroughly, at least 5 minutes. The dough must be soft to make delicate, light flaky rolls and coffee cakes; adding more
flour makes abready product.

Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turn once to bring greased side up. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place or Proffing Oven, until doubled, 1 to 2 hrs. Punch down, turn over, (One rising produces very satisfactory products but a 2nd
rising superior ones.) Now punch down and turn onto a lightly floured board or pastry cloth; cover with bowl, let rest 10 minutes. Shape into rolls and place in greased pans or spread dough in greased layer cake pans for coffee cake, and finish as desired.

Makes about 2 + 1/8 lbs. dough - enough for one 9" coffee cake and 9 to 10 rolls.

** Although I sift 5 cups of the all-purpose flour, I usually do not use ALL of it. Much depends on the weather and the humidity (or lack thereof) in the kitchen. At the end of mixing I go by the feel and look of the dough to determine when there is enough flour incorporated.

Source: "Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking - Volume I - page 279"
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NOTES : To make Apfelkuchen (German Apple Cake) or Quetchekuchen (Plum Cake):
1/2 half of recipe will go into a 12x18x1 jellyroll pan. Before adding fruit, paint with beaten egg white and water (allow to dry a bit) to keep fruit juices from causing a soggy, doughy bottom.

Thanks very much Lisbet. Though I've never made a recipe using yeast dough: this looks a bit intimidating. The one I used before I know was more of a quick bread dough, or batter, using baking powder, as was the streusel one I made a couple of days ago.

I like the idea of using cardamom or mace better than the cinnamon the last recipe called for. I'm not sure I like cinnamon with peaches: perhaps it makes them taste too much like apples (?). I haven't seen mace in years: I remember my Danish grandmother using that. It's good to have the names too for Apfelkuchen and Quetchekuchen. I was pretty sure kuchen meant cake.

It is not more difficult than making dinner rolls. I never used the kind of dough made with baking powder for a fruit covered cake. In German cake doughs made with baking powder are known as "mürbeteig".
The recipes I gave is a sweet roll dough, or coffee cake dough. Yes, "kuchen" is cake, but there are two types of cake doughs; one made with BP and the other made with yeast.

My Mom made a German recipe from her Mom - it was MUCH more basic than lisbet's though -- if you still want one let me know and I'll look it up.

Sure blueiris...basic is good too!

I, too, would be intrested in the Zuetchekuchen in that much more basic cake. My German mom passed away and did not leave her recipe for the dough...guess she thought it was so simple that it did not need to be written down. She would slice the fruit in fairly thick slices, stack them in rows leaning each slice against the other one over the entire surface (plums applied in quarters), and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, then dot with butter before baking. I was told that my grandmother would dot with sour cream after cake is done, and shove it back into the oven for a few minutes.

My husband and I like the richer sweet roll dough. A few years back I had company from Germany and she told me that the dough should be more "bread like". On my trip to Germany, visiting relatives, I thought they used a much richer dough than "bread like", more like what I make now.

Are there any other members who know about this cake? It would be interesting to hear other opinions and ideas.

When I was little, my German grandmother (who lived next door) mixed up a bread dough every Saturday night. Sunday morning, she made raisin bread and kuchen and sent it home with my dad, after he finished milking the cows. What I remember is that she always used big, fat muscat raisins in the bread. The kuchen was basically bread dough in a pan and she would "dimple" the top with her fingers and sprinkle on sugar and cinnamon and dot it with butter. Sometimes, she would put sliced apples, peaches, plums or even concord grapes on it. Her dough was definitely not a sweet yeast dough, just a basic bread dough. I know she scalded milk for it, but I don't think she even put eggs in it. I'd love to try these other versions, too, though - see if I recreate it.