Kaffee und Kuchen! Yummmm....

One of the best German traditions we are quickly assimilating to is Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) time :) Traditionally it is a time to meet up with friends/family between lunch and dinner on Sundays, however I think everyone would agree everyday is a good day for Kaffee und Kuchen!

The bakeries and cafes are in abundance in the city town centers. Here is a photo of one of the many idyllic cafes.

All the customers food and drinks looked soooooooo delish we had to stop and join the fun :)

Then we decided to do some more market research for the blog and ordered this! at another cute little cafe. The cakes are tasty and beautiful all at the same time. 

Coffee has been in Germany since the 17th century. The city of Leipzig had its first coffee house established in 1694. Wow! Older than Starbucks! 

If you feel the need to tap into your German/ European roots and invite some friends and family over for your own Kaffee and Kuchen meeting, here is a cake recipe for you. It's plum cake. Plums are in season here and every bakery has its own version ready for your seasonal enjoyment. 

Plum Cake (translation and adaptation)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Butter or Margarine

2/3 cup sugar

1 packet of vanilla sugar or substitute approx. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

1/2 of a lemon peel shavings

2 eggs

1/2 cup of milk

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons backing powder

1 cup chopped almonds

1/4 cup of syrup

approx. 7/8 cup  (200 grams) of whipping cream 

8-14 plums 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Whip the butter, then add the egg, sugar, vanilla and lemon peels while mixing. In a separate bowl

combine the flour and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients one spoonful at a time while mixing continues. Then add the milk while mixing till a classic batter consistency forms (see picture for consistency). Grease the bottom of a springform pan and spread the batter in to pan.

Cut the plums in half and remove the seeds. Place the plums on top of the batter in the pan evenly. Mix the whip cream with the almonds and the syrup and pour over the plums evenly.

Bake cake in oven at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour.

As they say in the friendly neighboring country, "Let them eat cake!"