Plum Kuchen

Plum Kuchen

Yield: 1 9.5†kuchen

# of Servings: 8

Ingredients:

½ recipe Sweet Yeast Dough 

5 to 6 plums, just starting to ripen, rinsed

¼ cup (1.75 oz / 50 g) sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

Butter, as needed for greasing the cake ring or springform pan

Special tools and equipment needed: 

• One 9.5†by 2 ⅜†stainless steel cake ring¹ or 10†springform pan
• Half-sheet pan or large cookie sheet, lined with a silpat sheet or parchment.
• Small pastry wheel or pizza wheel
• Small melon baller

Directions
Day one: 

1. Make the Sweet Yeast Dough and refrigerate overnight.

Day two: 

1. If using the cake ring, butter the inside of the ring and place on a silpat or parchment lined pan. If using a springform butter the sides and bottom of the pan.  Set in the refrigerator for the butter to set.
2. Halve and pit the plums. Slice each half into thin slices. Set on a plate.
3. Take 14 oz of the yeast dough and roll into a 10†circle. Let the dough rest for two minutes.
4. Using the cake ring or the bottom of the springform as a guide, trim the dough to a circle that fits in the ring or the springform.  If the dough circle shrinks slightly press or roll it outwards so it’s touching the edges of the pan.
5. Place the plums slices tight against each other on the dough, forming two circles of overlapping slices. Fill the center with two or three thin slices.
6. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over the plum slices.
7. Let rise in a warm place until the dough is puffy.
8. Preheat oven to 375 °F.
9. Bake until the plums are soft, the sugar has melted into the plums, and the dough registers 205 °F on an instant read thermometer, about 40 to 45 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
11. Using a kitchen towel or pot holders, remove the cake ring, or edges of the springform.
12. Let kuchen cool to lukewarm. Use the bottom of tart pan or a large spatula to move the kuchen to serving plate.
13.  Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.