I remember my Mother and I often sitting in the kitchen with bowls of purple plums in our laps, splitting the plums in half and removing the pits. The pans of "Kuchen" dough were waiting for the spirals of plum halves and coating of cinnamon and sugar. I always enjoyed pressing the plump plums into the dough, peel side down, and marveling at the beauty of the Plum cakes when they come out of the oven full of purple and scarlet juices, tart and sweet, as only plum Kuchen can be.

The purple plums best to use are the freestone Italian plums. If you have ever tried to cut out the pits from any other you will understand why. I always split a plum in the store to be sure that it is a freestone. When I bake, I will make 2 or 4 cakes to share with family. It is no more work to make several than one.

No bakery or store bought plum cake, no matter how beautiful it looks, can ever compete with a fresh home baked and warm from the oven, Hungarian Plum Cake. This cake is beautiful to see, the rich purple color of the plums develop and glaze with the sugar and cinnamon while baking.

Regards, June Meyer.

• 3 cups flour
• 1/4 cup of warm water
• 1 pkg. of yeast or 2 1/2 tsp. granulated yeast
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 3/4 cup scalded milk
• 3 Tbl sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 to 4 lbs. of Italian freestone plums, washed, cut in half and stoned

Heat milk to scalding, then add butter and 1 1/2 Tbs of sugar, stir well until butter and sugar are dissolved.
In small bowl, add yeast to water, with the other 1 1/2 Tbl. of sugar.
Put 2 cups of flour in large bowl and add cooled milk, yeast mixture, eggs and salt.
Beat well.
Add the additional flour and work until dough comes away from sides of the bowl. Dough should be very soft and sticky. (If too thick, add a few teaspoons of warm water).

Cover and let rise till double in bulk. This recipe will make 3 nine inch cake pans of Kuchen.
When dough is ready, grease pan generously with butter, do not flour.
Put a third of the dough in each pan, butter your hands, (otherwise the dough will stick to your hands). Using your fingers push dough to outer edges of pan, the dough will not want to stay there, but as you push plums skin side down into the dough, it will remain in place.
Arrange the plums halves in a concentric spiral close together.
Sprinkle each Kuchen with a third of the topping and dot with butter.

Topping

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 heaping Tbl. flour
• 1 1/2 Tbl. cinnamon
• 3/4 cup of butter (1/4 for each cake) to dot topping with

Mix and sift sugar, flour and cinnamon together twice.

Let rise for another 1/2 hour.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minute or until sides and bottom are golden brown.

We often double this recipe and make 6 or more. They freeze well and are nice to share.

Makes 3 cakes.