Moving on today with perhaps a not entirely traditional dish, but nonetheless a little nod to Luxembourg with this fresh plum bread.
Being a relatively small country and sandwiched between Germany, France and Belgium, the culture and cuisine of Luxembourg are heavily influenced by all three. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but as such, the country as a whole seems to lack a strong cultural identity. This made it a tad hard to find something that was truly native to it. One specialty of this country alone is Quetschentaart, a plum tart that can be found in any pastry shop.
However…I’m not a huge fan of tarts. Or pie. Or fruit desserts (which my friends like to remind me is not actually 100% true). I AM a huge, huge fan of bread and cake, and this can float either way on that spectrum depending on your present mindset. It’s not so sweet that your mind would jump to a cake and therefore shy away from eating this for breakfast, but also just sweet enough that it’d be the perfect accompaniment to afternoon tea (of which I am a huge fan).
This is very easy to throw together in two shakes and a lazy afternoon. It’s moistness comes from both butter and nonfat Greek yogurt, adding some extra heft to get you through whatever long hours lie ahead. Flax seeds give it a surprising nutty feeling without the nuts, and a hearty supply of fresh plums are scattered throughout.
My original iteration of this included a brown sugar topping, and I opted out the second time for a more pleasing result.
If you are so inclined to turn this quick fresh plum bread into a quick fresh plum cake, please do! an 8x 8 pan or 6″ round would do nicely. Please do!
Fresh Plum Bread
Fresh plum bread stays tender with creamed butter and Greek yogurt and adds a hint of nuttiness from flax seeds.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups diced plums (about 4 plums)
- 1 TB all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup ground flax seeds
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and sugar a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Step 2 Sprinkle chopped plums with 1 tablespoon of flour in a bowl, and toss to coat. (This is so the plums don’t sink to the bottom of the cake).
- Step 3 In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Slowly add the flour, salt, flax and baking soda, alternating with yogurt until well combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Step 4 Lightly fold in the flour-coated plums, and pour the batter into the loaf pan.
- Step 5 Bake for about 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 10 to 15 minutes before removing from pan for slicing.
