Pflaumenmuß / Spiced plum jam

One of my favourite things to do on a weekend is to brew myself a large pot of tea, have breakfast on the sofa and read food magazines while some cooking show is on (overdose, anyone?). Since my weekday breakfasts usually only involve some hastily slurped müsli before I leave for work, I like to indulge on my weekends off.

Weekend breakfasts usually involve some lovely toasted German rye bread lathered with slightly salted butter and a sweet and tangy Pflaumenmuß – that lip smacking, rib sticking stuff that smacks you around the face with it’s slightly sharp tang and gorgeous, fruity finish.

I always import Pflaumenmuß when I go back to Germany (my brand of choice is the gorgeous “Original Aachener Pflümli” in their purple and white pots). When I walked down Portobello road market yesterday, I spotted crates full of gorgeously ripe purple plums so I decided to give this Pflaumenmuß business a shot. And oh my, this recipe is spot on. No more shop-bought stuff, this is the real deal!
This recipe is based on my hero Luisa Weiss’ recipe from “My Berlin Kitchen”, my all-time favourite foodie novel, which includes some of my favourite German recipes. If you haven’t heard of her yet, check out her blog www.thewednesdaychef.com immediately!

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The traditional recipe - Pflaumenmuß

Fills 2-3 jam jars

2 kg ripe plums
450 g caster sugar
2 tbsp vanilla sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves


Tipp: Please do NOT be tempted to replace whole cloves with a pinch of ground cloves – it might end up tasting slightly medicinal if you over-pinch. If you don’t have any vanilla sugar on hand, just use caster sugar.

Pit and quarter the plums and place them in a ovenproof heavy-based pot. Add the sugar, cinnamon stick and whole cloves. Stir well, cover with a lid and let it sit overnight or for 8 hours. This will macerate the plums and draw out the lovely plum juices.
The next day, pre-heat the oven to 175°C. Give the juicy mixture a good stir, then place the pot in the oven without a lid. Cook the mixture for about 2 hours, giving it a stir every half hour or so. If you don’t, some of the plums on to might catch and give you a slightly smoky-tasting Pflaumenmuß.

While the mixture is cooking down in the oven, sterilize some jam jars and lids by either washing them in hot water or simply washing them in the dishwasher and letting them air dry, making sure not to touch the insides after washing.

After 2 hours, check the mixture in the oven. If the plums have broken down and all the liquid has reduced to a thick jammy consistency, it's done. Take the pot out out of the oven and fish out the cinnamon stick and cloves and discard them.

You now have two options:
- If you prefer the classic Pflaumenmuß, then purée the mixture with a handheld blender until you have a lovely mousse consistency.
- If you prefer a Pflaumenmarmelade with some chunks of fruit, then don’t purée it. Either way, it’s absolutely lovely. 

Fill the sterilized jars with the hot Pflaumenmuß, then immediately turn the jars upside down on a wire rack. After about 10 minutes, turn them right side up again and leave them to cool completely; this will produce a vacuum and give you the satisfying “click” when you open the jam jars.

The Pflaumenmuß will keep for at least a year.  Enjoy on your morning toast, stirred through porridge or with pancakes for a truly indulgent, German breakfast.