Grated Dough Cake with Plum Jam and Walnuts – Prajitură Răzuită cu Gem

I’ve seen that this year I simply got a thing for plum desserts. I’ve already made plum cake, plum jam, and I think I’ll try to make the ultra-popular Romanian plum dumplings soon. Since the plum jam I recently made turned out so good, I really wanted to do something different with it, rather than just eat it with bread and butter for breakfast. You can find many traditional Romanian desserts which contain either jam or fruit preserve, and this cake is simply perfect with a jam that’s both sweet and sour, such as plum or apricot jam.

I recently remembered about an interesting grated dough cake that I once ate at one of my grandma’s friends when I was a kid. I can’t remember if my grandma ever made it, but I specifically remember the day when her next-door neighbour brought us some of this delicious grated dough cake with plum jam and walnuts. I’ve also seen versions of it all over the internet. The top part of the cake is not actually crumbled; instead, it’s grated over the plum jam and walnuts cream, after it’s been kept in the freezer. We call it ‘prajitura razuita’, which means grated cake.

This traditional Romanian dessert is usually prepared with homemade jam, it makes such an enormous difference! I promise that the consistency of a homemade plum jam is so much better than anything you’ll find at the store. It doesn’t take you more than 3 hours to make it, and you’ll have at least 4 or 5 plum jam jars to use throughout the winter.

When you prepare the cake dough, you’ll have to make sure that it has the right texture. It’s best when it’s soft enough, but it doesn’t stick to your fingers. This is why I suggest starting with 400 grams of flour, and gradually add up to 100 more grams until the dough doesn’t stick to your fingers anymore. I’ve used medium-sized eggs, and I added between 450 and 470 grams of flour. Depending on the size of the eggs, the percentage of fat in the butter and the temperature in the room, you might get different results each time you bake a cake.

This grated dough cake with plum jam and walnuts will surprise you with its crumbly dough, which is also soft and full of flavors – I used a bit of vanilla extract and some lemon zest to give it even more flavor. Make sure that when you prepare the cream, you slowly incorporate the egg whites into the rest of the ingredients, so it will be nice and fluffy once it’s baked. The fluffy plum cream is nicely combined with some crunchy, finely chopped walnuts, and the whole cake just melts in your mouth. I simply love it! I’m thinking about using the same dough for an apple cake with raisins. I’ve adapted this traditional Romanian dessert recipe from Dulciuri Fel de Fel website.

Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients

Dough

200 g butter, at room temperature

200 g powdered sugar

3 egg yolks

1 whole egg

450 g flour

10 g baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of a lemon

Cream

250 g plum jam

100 g powdered sugar

3 egg whites

100 g ground walnuts

1 tablespoon cocoa

A pinch of salt

Directions

For the dough

1. Using a mixer, mix the soft butter with the powdered sugar until you get a creamy consistency.
2. Add the whole egg and mix until it’s fully incorporated in the butter, the add one egg yolk at a time until they’re all incorporated as well.
3. Add the vanilla extract and the lemon zest.
4. Sift together the flour with the baking powder, then gradually add them to the dough, while continuing to mix. Here’s how to see if the dough is ready: if you can easily turn it into a ball which doesn’t stick to your fingers, it’s perfect.
5. Cut 1/3 of the dough and place it in the freezer. Leave it there while you prepare the cream.
6. In a medium (20/30 cm) cake tray covered with baking sheet, press the remaining dough with your fingers or using a spatula, until it’s evenly distributed in the tray.

For the cream

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F).
2. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they’re foamy, then gradually add the powdered sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
3. In a bowl, mix the ground walnuts, the plum jam and the cocoa.
4. Start adding the egg whites to the plum and walnuts mixture, slowly incorporating them with a spatula. Don’t mix too much.
5. Spread the cream over the dough that’s already in the cake tray.
6. Take the remaining dough out of the freezer. Using a grater, spread the dough over the plum jam and walnuts cream.
7. Bake the cake for 30 minutes, or until it’s golden brown.
8. Let the grated dough cake with plum jam and walnuts cool before portioning it.

Recipe in Romanian – Rețeta în română

 Aluat

200 g unt la temperatura camerei

200 g zahăr pudră

3 gălbenușuri de ou

1 ou întreg

450 g făină

10 g praf de copt

1 linguriță extract de vanilie

Zeama de la o lămâie

Cremă

250 g gem de prune

100 g zahăr pudră

3 albușuri de ou

100 g nuci măcinate

1 lingură de cacao

Puțină sare

Indicații

Pentru aluat

1. Folosind un mixer, amestecați untul moale cu zahărul pudră până când obțineți o consistență cremoasă.
2. Adăugați oul întreg și amestecați până când este complet încorporat în unt. Adăugați apoi, pe rând, câte un gălbenuș de ou, până cand sunt încorporate și ele.
3. Adăugați extractul de vanilie și coaja de lămâie.
4. Amestecați făina cu praful de copt, apoi adăugați amestecul treptat în aluat. Iată cum puteți vedea dacă aluatul este gata: dacă îl puteți transforma cu ușurință într-o minge care nu se lipeste de degete, este perfect.
5. Tăiați 1/3 din aluat și puneți-l în congelator până pregătiți crema.
6. Într-o tavă de prăjitură medie (20/30 cm) acoperită cu o foaie de copt, apăsați aluatul rămas cu degetele sau cu o spatulă, până când este distribuit uniform în tavă.

Pentru cremă

1. Preîncălziți cuptorul la 180 ° C (360 ° F).
2. Bateți albușurile de ou cu un vârf de sare până când acestea sunt spumoase, apoi adăugați treptat zahărul pudră. Continuați să bateți până se formează o spumă tare.
3. Într-un castron, amestecați nucile măcinate, dulceața de prune și lingura de cacao.
4. Începeți să adăugați albușurile de ou la amestecul de prune și nuci, încorporându-le încet cu o spatulă. Nu amestecați prea mult.
5. Întindeți crema peste aluatul care este deja în tavă.
6. Scoateți aluatul rămas din congelator. Radeți pe răzătoare aluatul peste crema de prune nuci.
7. Coaceți prăjitura timp de aproximativ 30 de minute.
8. Lăsați prăjitura să se răcească puțin înainte de porționare.