MUERBE TEICH

 

Plums.  So many. Everywhere. Dropping from trees . Chicken Little would have to wear a helmet. A chance to make thick, brilliant purple jam. And a chance, at last to make Muerbe Teich

 ( Plum Cake). 

While waiting for the cake to bake, you can make  plum jam. I follow the recipe on the Certo box. Only I double it.Says you're not supposed to double it, but where's the fun in that? Double away.  Ended up with about 19 jars. Couldn't fit them all on the windowsill.......

But I digress.....Muerbe Teich is more like a coffee cake. It's not too sweet, crumbly, but not too much so, and the plums are tart, but not too much so. It's just about perfect with coffee, tea, whipped cream, plain.....

 

BASE:

3 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup butter/margarine

 Mix first 5 ingredients till crumbly. Cut in butter with pastry cutter till dough is soft and workable. I added leftover sour cream, about a 1/2 cup, to help the dough along. Press into a buttered 10 x 13 inch pan, forming a slight lip on the edges with the dough.

FILLING:

Cut up 24-30 Plums. Lay these on the dough, tightly packed, like sardines, side by side, skin up.

  TOPPING:
2 ½ cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
½ cup butter

 Mix all together and sprinkle over plums to make a crumbly top. Squeeze some together to make lumpy nodules so the topping doesn't look too uniform.

    Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes till golden around edges. Sometimes this cake can be underbaked, so watch it carefully, or the centre will be doughy.Test with a knife to check periodically.