Sweet and crumbly German stone fruit cake

This recipe sounds involved because of the number of steps but in reality it’s quite straightforward. I am unable to make attribution other than to say it was given to my wife 20-odd years ago by a cousin.

Suffice to say it’s one of the most delicious desserts I know, a ‘special’ recipe we have used on many special occasions with every guest who tried it coming back for seconds!

Ingredients

• Dough
• 200ml buttermilk, warm to touch
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• 1 lemon rind, grated
• 1 tbsp granular yeast
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour (white or rye)
• Filling
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 160ml sour cream
• Crumble
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg, or to taste
• 100g salted butter, chilled and diced
• 1 kg firm plums, peaches or apricots, stoned and quartered

Method

1. Prepare the dough by combining the buttermilk, sugar, butter, egg, lemon rind, yeast and 1 cup of flour in a large bowl. Mix well, before adding the balance of the flour. Knead lightly. The dough is meant to be quite sticky. Do not attempt to add more flour.
2. Place in the bottom of a 28cm non-stick spring form pan (alternatively, use buttered paper as a liner). Spread evenly and flatten slightly with fingertips. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes.
3. For the filling, add flour, sugar, vanilla and sour cream in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
4. Prepare the crumble by mixing together flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter. Rub through the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Set aside.
5. Use fingertips to press down the risen dough. Allow to rise slightly, then gently pour the sour cream mixture over the top. Spread the selected fruit evenly over the sour cream and sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top of the fruit.
6. Bake at 200°C for 40 to 45 minutes until the crumble is a deep golden brown. Allow the dessert to cool for 10 minutes before releasing from the pan.