It is officially plumb season in Germany, but not any plumb, it is the zwetschgen season. Zwetschgen is a small type of plumb that is popular during the fall season.
Germany has this way of bombarding you with fruits and vegetables that are only to be eaten at certain seasons, in example, chanterelle mushrooms, where for literally an entire month you are unable to go to any restaurant or supermarket without a dedicated menu or aisle to this tasty mushroom.
Asparagus, now I do not even know where to begin with Asparagus. The obsession of white asparagus for what seems to be 2-3 months is a phenomenon on its own. There are festivals, hikes, parades, you name it all surrounding the white asparagus. You can buy them on every corner and your neighbours will always be comparing why their white asparagus is better than the one you bought. I mean if we are talking about exciting times, its in these 2-3 months in the spring/summertime here in Germany.
Now the zwetschgen does not get as much appraisal as the aforementioned veggies, but it does get a bit of a limelight in the colder months. As a German myself, how could I do my culture any honour if I also did not purchase and bake/cook with this seasonal fruit. (I mean plumbs are offered year-round and I could probably count on one hand how many times I’ve actually went out and bought a plumb) Nevertheless, I was determined to bake something with this tasty little plumb.
I have said before that I really am not much of a baker. I think once it starts becoming a dessert that can easily be ruined, I might as well give up right then and there. These bars however were so easy to make and filled the entire apartment with the warmth of cinnamon. I mean, how can your stomach not start growling at this point. The tartness of the plumbs meshed so nicely with the sweetness of the sugar and cinnamon crumble. I am telling you, not only are these bars so easy to make, but they will make anyone who tries them addicted and ask for more.
Dough
180g all purpose flour
80g vegan butter
80g sugar
1 small package vanilla sugar (8g)
1/2 tsp baking powder
50 ml water
Plumbs
500g, pit removed and halved
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
Streusel
150g all purpose flour
100g vegan butter
1 package vanilla sugar (8g)
2 tbsp cinnamon
In a bowl mix all of your ingredients and knead into a dough. Once the butter has fully melted and your dough is manageable, roll into a ball and cover in cling film and put into the refrigerator for about 1/2 an hour.
In the meantime, in a medium size bowl add your plumb halves and mix with the cinnamon and sugar.
In a separate bowl add your streusel ingredients and mix until you have a coarse meal structure, you do not want to have a dough. It is essential that your butter is cold when making your streusel. You can mix until you have fine streusel bits, however I prefer to leave some larger bits in the mixture for some added texture.
Preheat your oven to 180 C.
Grease your baking form. Add the dough to the bottom of the form and even it out to ensure that the dough is level along the entire form. Prick the dough with a fork.
Add your plumb mixture on top of the dough.
Add your streusel mixture on top of your plumbs and put into the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes, and then if you notice your streusel is starting to brown too much cover with aluminium foil and continue to bake for about another 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool.
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