Zwetschgenkuchen (German Plum Cake) With cinnamon & star anise pistachio streusel

it has been six months since my dad passed away, the backbone of our house has mercifully departed.

suddenly it felt like the world is speaking a new language i’m not familiar with nor I understand.

my finger tip still reminisce the feel of his face skin when I used to shave him

warm, velvet, tender like august peach.

two years later while i’m editing this post my hands still remember it as if it was yesterday.

plums always reminds of early September 2017, when I was shoving my suitcase with clothes.

german cake recipe from a vintage I got from a local book store in houston. where I used to find serenity in vintage stained cookbooks.

I have made some improvements to the recipe and fixed some errors..enjoy

900g plums ,cut into quarters, pits removed

1 cup (250ml) lukewarm coconut milk

1 1/2 tablespoons dry active yeast

4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (150g) sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

115g butter (melted but not hot)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon quality pure vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla bean.

1 tablespoon orange zest.

For the Streusel:

1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour

1 cup (200g) sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground star anise

115g ofbutter ,at room temperature

1/2 cup (50g-70g) ground or crushed pistachio and more for garnish

Method:In a small bowl whisk the yeast with warm milk and let is sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy.

Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer, pour in the yeast mixture, melted warm butter, eggs, vanilla orange zest. Give it a stir to combine the ingredients and then knead with dough hook attachment for 4-5 minutes on medium speed, The dough will be sticky but should hold together well. It will not be firm enough to knead into a ball, it’smore like thick batter.)

Cover it loosely with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.Grease generously with butter 18 x 13 inch sheet pan.

rub your palm hands with little oil and spread the dough with your finger to cover the pan and press against the sides.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place for 1 hour.

After 1 hour line up plum quarters over the dough.

To make the streusel: Place all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and use your fingers to bring it all together. Work with the mixture until it's thoroughly combined and forms a rough sand and clumpy texture. Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the cake

.Bake the cake on the middle rack of the oven preheated to 350f\ 175c degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden. Let the cake sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing to let some of the liquid set. Slice the cake into squares and serve.

Note: you can use cherries instead of plums ..totally worth it!!