Plum Cake Antoinette Pope

Basic Raised Dough for Doughnuts, Bismarks, Etc.
 Makes about 8 very large doughnuts, 12 medium bismarcks

1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup soft butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, beaten well
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 package dry yeast, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (110-115)

Pour scalded milk over butter and sugar. Add salt. When melted, add beaten egg and vanilla. When lukewarm, add dissolved yeast, and last sifted flour a little at a time to form a soft dough. When too stiff to mix with spoon, turn out onto floured pastry cloth and add only enough more flour to form soft dough that does not stick to hands. Knead for several minutes. Place in well greased bowl. Brush top of dough with melted fat, cover, and let rise in warm place until double. Turn out onto cloth and knead again 1 minute. Place in greased bowl, brush top with melted fat, and allow to rise again until double. After dough rises a second time, cut, or shape as desired.

Fruit Cake Assembly
Pat and roll 1/2(or more) of Basic Raised Dough about 10 inch square  to fit a shallow 9-inch square pan. Place in greased pan, pulling and stretching dough to fit and having it come up on all sides about 1 inch. Sprinkle dough with 3 tablespoons of dry bread crumbs and let stand about 15 minutes. Cut plums in half or more if large, remove stones and arrange them with cut side up. in parallel rows on the crumbs and sprinkle top with about  1/3 cup sugar combined with 1/4 teaspoon  cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg. Combine 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 egg yolk slightly beaten and 2 tablespoons milk. Drizzle over fruit. Let stand 15 minutes until light. Bake 45-60 minutes in 350 oven, or until crust is brown and fruit is soft.

Antoinette Pope Cookbook 1973
Grandma Bidlo's original plum cake recipe