EX-PAT'S PFLAUMENMUS-ERSATZ - PLUM BUTTER MADE FROM PRUNES

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Nothing better than a slice of freshly baked bread with butter and jam, especially with Pflaumenmus - spiced German plum butter - one of my favorites. Pflaumenmus is made from Italian plums, cooked for many hours to a dark mush, and seasoned with cinnamon and a hint of cloves.

Plum butter tastes similar to apple butter, but noticeably tarter and more intense. Pflaumenmus - or Powidl in Austria - is not only a tasty spread for sandwiches, but, also, often used as sweet filling in dumplings or pastry, especially in Austria and neighboring countries of the old Hapsburg empire.

Bohemian Hazelnut Torte with plum butter (the dark layer)

Married to a Vietnam vet, I can get plum butter and other German delicacies at the commissary in Bangor. But if you have neither access to a military base, nor to a German deli shop, and don't want to go through the lengthy process of making the real thing from scratch - there is an easy way out: DIY-Pflaumenmus-Ersatz!

When I wrote my blog post for Bohemian Hazelnut Torte I was wondering what kind of substitute could be used for plum butter. The best of all husbands suggested apple butter, and it comes fairly close, but is somewhat milder. Then I thought of the dried prunes I like snacking on, looked at ingredients in some Pflaumenmus (from the scratch) recipes, and got to work.

Ingredients for Pflaumenmus-Ersatz

This is what I came up with: a combination of the mellow acidity of balsamic vinegar and the fresh zing of lemon juice for tartness, brown sugar and maple syrup (or only brown sugar) for sweetness, and cinnamon and a hint of cloves for spices.

The prunes have to be soaked for several hours (or overnight), so that they can be easily pureed, using either a food processor or an immersion blender. The plum butter substitute tastes better the day after it's made, so give it a 12-hour rest in the fridge to allow the flavors to blend.

Not only good for baking - we had Pflaumenmus-Ersatz with pancakes and maple syrup for brunch: delicious!


PFLAUMENMUS-ERSATZ - SUBSTITUTE FOR PLUM BUTTER
200 g dried prunes
3/4 cup/180 g water, boiling
40 g/5 tsp. balsamic vinegar
4 tsp. lemon juice
4 tsp. dark brown sugar (or 1 tbsp. brown sugar and 1/2 tbsp. maple syrup)
1/8-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon (to taste)
pinch ground cloves

In a small bowl, pour boiling water over prunes. Cover, and let sit for several hours (or overnight) to soften.

Place softened prunes with soaking liquid in bowl of food processor (or blender). Add balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, brown sugar, maple syrup (if using), cinnamon and cloves, and process until mixture is smooth.

Season with more lemon juice, brown sugar (or maple syrup) and cinnamon to taste. Transfer plum butter to a jar or bowl, cover, and allow to rest for 12 hours, until flavors have blended.

ÖSTERREICHISCHE KASTANIENTORTE - AUSTRIAN CHESTNUT TORTE

DOUGH
4 eggs, separated
100 g butter, softened
100 g confectioners' sugar, sifted
100 g chestnut puree (I used canned chestnut puree)
90 g pastry flour or cake flour (unbleached)
30 g chestnut flour
40 cake crumbs (I use ground ladyfingers)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
lemon zest, grated (1/2 lemon)
100 g apricot jam, warm (strained, if chunky)

FILLING
500 ml whipping cream
80 g confectioners' sugar, sifted
100 g chestnut puree
6 gelatin leaves, white, or 1 1/2 envelope powdered gelatin (1 1/2 tbsp.)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
40 ml rum, heated

DECORATION
More whipped cream, if needed, for rosettes
almonds, unbleached, ground (ca. 1/4 cup)
almonds, unbleached, whole

DOUGH (can be made a day ahead):
1. Preheat oven to 355 F/180 C. Mist 3 round cake pans with oil spray, then line bottoms with parchment paper. Grease parchment lined bottoms. (Or use springform pan and cut into layers).
2. Cream together butter and 1/2 of confectioners' sugar (50 g) until fluffy, add chestnut puree and beat until fluffy. Add egg yolks one by one, beating well after each addition.
3. Whisk egg whites and other 1/2 of sugar until stiff. Gently fold egg whites into butter mixture. In a second bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cake crumbs and lemon zest. Fold flour mixture gently into dough.
4. Distribute dough evenly over cake pans (or springform pan), and smooth surface with spatula. Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes (or 40 minutes for large cake). Let cool completely in pans.

FILLING:
5. Remove cake bottoms from pans (or cut large cake into 3 layers). Brush with warm apricot jam. Whisk together chestnut puree with some whipping cream so that it is creamy (and not stiff). Whisk whipping cream with confectioners' sugar and vanilla until stiff.
6. Soak gelatin leaves in cold water (or use powder following instructions on envelope). Heat rum in small bowl, then dissolve gelatin in the hot rum. Slowly add chestnut cream to gelatin mixture (to prevent lumps), then fold mixture into whipped cream.

ASSEMBLY:
7. Spread 2/3 of filling over lower 2 cake bottoms, place all three on top each other. Spread top and sides of torte with cream. Place leftover filling in pastry bag (or, if it's not enough, use whipped cream) and decorate top with rosettes.
8. Sprinkle torte with ground almonds (except for rosettes) and decorate with whole almonds. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Recipe adapted from "Das grosse österreichische Tortenbuch".