This week’s recipe was Zwetschgenmichel, or plum casserole, from the German state of Thuringen (Thuringia). Thuringen is in central Germany and is home to the towns of Erfurt, Gera, Jena and Weimar.
Zwetschgen are plums used to make prunes. Zwetschgen trees are quite common here, almost everyone with a garden has one in it, including us. Unfortunately, I discovered that our Zwetschgen weren’t quite ripe. They were hard, and when I cut them open, the flesh was green. The sign of a ripe Zwetschgen is that, while firm outside, the inside flesh should be yellow and sweet. I ended up buying a 2 kg basket of Zwetschgen at the supermarket in town.
Halfed and pitted Zwetschgen
The recipe is pretty straightforward. Instead of vanilla sugar, I just substituted regular sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. I couldn’t find the packets of vanilla sugar I know are somewhere in my pantry, and didn’t want to run out to the store for more. I also forgot to buy the lemons I was planning to use for the zest, so I used lime zest instead.
What did I think? Oh. My. God. This was SOOOOOO good. From the buttery, custardy bread slices, to the plum brandy soaked Zwetschgen, to the absolutely scrumptious cinnamon sauce, I can’t imagine any way of improving this recipe. Oh wait, I forgot to add the chopped almonds in, that might improve it. Darn, I guess when our Zwetschgen in the garden finally ripen, I’ll have to make this recipe again to see how it would be with the nuts.
Line a cookie pan with foil and put it under the casserole dish, this recipe leaks!
I brought this dish to a picnic and it went over very well. Additionally, because I knew I’d be serving this to pregnant ladies and kids, I added the Eierlikör (egg liquer) before bringing the sauce to a boil, instead of adding it after the sauce had cooled, so that the alcohol would be cooked out of the sauce. Maybe I’ll make it again the proper way and see what difference that makes to the taste.
Zwetschgenmichel with cinnamon sauce perfection
Other participants:
- Be the first!
Next challenge!
- August 24 – Grumbeersupp mit Quetschekuche (Potato soup with plum cake)
- August 31 – Pumpernickeleis (Pumpernickel ice cream)
See the post on upcoming challenges for more details on future recipes.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Mouth-watering!!!
.-= Mrs4444´s last blog ..Weekly Winners/Sundays in My City =-.
Christina, next weeks recipe has nothing to do with a quest. It’s Quetsche = Zwetschge = plum
(I live in that region where people talk that dialect)
Glad that you liked the Zwetschgenmichel. You can also add apples or cherries (Kirschenmichel or Kerscheplotzer as we call it here)
That looks soooo goood!!! Do you thnk you could make it with peaches?
.-= Deidre´s last blog ..Hit the road Jack, and don’tcha come back no more no more no more no more… =-.
@Mrs4444: Thanks!
@Sabine: Oops, that was a typo!
@Deidre: Yeah, I think any stone fruit would work fine, and like Sabine says, apples too. The sauce should be fine too, peaches and cinnamon go well together. I might look for peach brandy instead of plum brandy then.
Oooh, that looks so delicious. And Mr. M would totally go for the Eierlikör sauce – he loves that stuff. I know my mother-in-law will be dropping a metric tons of Zwetschgen on us as soon as they’re ripe so this is one thing I can do with them.
.-= christina´s last blog ..life is… =-.
I love Zwetschgen. If I was a multimillionaire I would hire someone to cook every one of your Zwetschgen dishes for me, as I don’t have the time.
Looking forward to some Rischart’s Datschi when I am back in Munich!
.-= Dave´s last blog ..Paris at Night – Eiffel Tower =-.
@christina: I highly recommend the Zwetschgenmichel. I’m still thinking about how good it was.
@dave: Good thing that here in Germany you can just run down to the bakery and get a piece of Zwetschgenkuchen
Looks tasty!
Today I finally found some zwetschgen at the markets (I live in Adelaide, Australia). I think I’ll have to go back on Friday, buy 2kg and bake!;)
.-= Miss Kimbers´s last blog ..The hospital =-.