Yeast Cake with Plums and Crumble Topping [My Grandma’s Baking – Part I]

When I think about people who have influenced my cooking, my maternal grandmother is surely one of them. For as long as I can remember, there has always been at least one cake baked by her every Sunday and many, many more for special occasions. Her birthday cakes (torte) with butter cream were famous amongst family, friends and acquaintances and I can still remember us – her grandchildren – fighting over who was going to scrape bowls with the leftover butter cream. She also specialized in all sorts of yeast cakes so I knew if I was to learn to bake them properly, I should learn directly from the master.

My grandma revealed to me all the tricks on how to prepare the yeast dough (please check the recipe below for the details) but a small problem appeared when I asked her about quantities of ingredients. It occurred she always used her intuition and played by the ear! When it comes to baking I am completely different: very precise about the amounts. So I did end up weighing everything to make sure I have not only the perfect description of the yeast dough preparation but also the perfect combination of ingredients to ensure the success. And believe me, if you follow this yeast cake recipe, you will achieve a success: a delicious, light and airy yeast cake!

INGREDIENTS (for 20 pieces):

250ml milk,

60g sugar,

20g yeast,

75g butter,

2 egg yolks,

300g plain flour,

pinch of salt,

600g plums.

Crumble:

75g butter,

100g plain flour,

50g Demerara sugar.

METHOD:

1. Warm up the milk. It should be warm but not hot, hot milk will “kill” the yeast.
2. Pour half the milk to a cup, add 2 tbsp of sugar and the yeast, stir it and leave till it rises.
3. Melt the butter.
4. Beat the egg yolks with the rest of sugar till creamy.
5. Put the flour and salt to a big bowl, add the milk and beaten egg yolks and knead for a minute until more or less combined; add the yeast mixture and knead for 1-2 minutes and finally add the melted butter. Knead the dough until it is smooth (however small lumps are fine) and it doesn’t stick to your hand anymore. It should take about 5-7 minutes.
6. Leave the bowl with the dough in a warm place until it doubles in size. Depending on the temperature, it can take between 1 and 2 hours.
7. Wash and dry the plums, cut them in half and remove stones. You may not need all of the plums (the amount depends on their size).
8. Cover a bottom and sides of a rectangular 23cm x 35cm baking tray with baking paper. You may use a slightly bigger tray but I wouldn’t use a smaller one as then the cake will be too high.
9. Transfer the dough to the prepared tray and spread it. The best way to do it is with your hands but make sure you cover your hands with oil at first to prevent the dough from sticking to them.
10. Arrange the plums on top of the dough and leave it to rise again (approx. 10-15 min.)
11. Preheat an oven to 180 Celsius degrees (fan oven).
12. Prepare the crumble: melt the butter, add the flour and sugar and rub everything together.
13. When the cake has risen, put the crumble on top of the plums and place the tray in the hot oven.
14. Bake for 30-35 min. until the cake is baked trough (check by inserting a wooden stick, if it comes out dry, the cake is ready).