Mrs. Lund's Fresh Plum Cake

The main ingredients: Plums and Flour

When I think about "brunch", I think about girls getting together and chatting. I think about friendships. Growing up in Lake Valley, our neighborhood was a bit like The Wonder Years. We were The Gadzia's, next door were the Wheeler's, The McKee's, and the Bemis', The Wiggins', The Simmons', The Zumwalt's, The Godwin's, the Todd's...and Pete on the corner who gave us bare-footed kids Tootsie Roll pops. Then of course, there were The Lund's. Many of my first food memories and first tastes were at The Lund's house. Christina was three years older than me, the same age as my brother but we were the good friends. She was more like the big sister I never had- but always wanted.

Their house was so much more immaculate than ours. Being that Mom owned a pet shop, our house was more like an exotic zoo at times. We had a pet raccoon, a spider monkey, even had a pet prairie dog once. But it was a beautiful home with a pool on the lake, and my childhood Elementary school years are most memorable.

Mrs. Lund probably never imagined that I would become a Foodpreneur, and at that time, was mentally cataloging everything I tasted at her house. I had my first cucumber salad there, first homemade wheat rolls, and of course, my very first taste of German plum cake. I remember Mrs. Lund as a gracious, beautiful and sweet lady with a German accent who was also the school librarian. I went back to the old neighborhood a few years ago and Mr. & Mrs. Lund looked exactly the same as they did 30 years ago. Even their lawn was as perfect as it was 30 years ago.

People would find it strange that I remember everything I've ever tasted, and everything everybody else tells me, they tasted.

I found an early photo of myself relaxing in our back yard on the hammock, obviously quite curious about a strawberry. 🙂 Food seemed to be as curious to me then as it is now.

Now back to the Plum cake. The German name for Plum Cake is "Zwetschgendatschi." There are two main versions, the easy version with powder for rising or the more time-consuming version with yeast. I've made both. The yeast version tastes more like Plum Bread to me. My girls loved it right out of the oven with melted butter.

This is not a sweet cake. I like granulated sugar as opposed to powdered sugar. This is pure cake with real fresh plums. I reduced this recipe to be made in a 8x8 inch square pan...simply because a 9x12 cake is just too much cake for my family. Plus, most of the recipes call for a whole pound of plums or more. I made mine with only three plums. The important thing is to make sure your plums are ripe. They will give when you push on them. I use margarine in this recipe because I don't think butter improves it. I love butter, don't get me wrong. 🙂 I will post the yeast version next week.

Try cutting them into little finger cakes too.

For more exciting Brunch recipes look here:

Beverages

Watermelon Rosemary Champagne Cocktail by Vanilla Lemonade

Pear Hibiscus Brunch Cocktail by Rachel Cooks

Strawberry Rose Sangria by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen

Mocha Frappuccino by Around My Family Table

Pineapple-Basil Tea by The Kitchen Prep

Eggs

Tomato and Mozzarella Quiche by Love and Confection

Cherry Tomato and Chorizo Omelette by Katie’s Cucina

Asparagus and Bacon Quicheby Confessions of an Overworked Mom

Meat, Poultry and Fish

Bacon Canapés with Oranges and Maple Yogurt by Cook the Story

Chicken Bacon Ranch Panini by Sweet Remedy

Pancetta Wrapped Chicken by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner

Breads, Grains, Cereals and Pancake-type Yums

Spinach and Goat Cheese Muffins by Culinary Flavors

Overnight Blintz Bake by White Lights on Wednesday

Bananas Foster French Toast by by Cravings of a Lunatic

Desserts

Cinnamon Raisin Bread by Katie’s Cucina

Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake by Take A Bite Out Of Boca

Strawberry Scones by Kokocooks

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart by Kelly Bakes

Fruits and Veggies

Honey-Watermelon Soup by Culinary Adventures with Camilla