move to Germany and gain 30 lbs. without even trying!

I managed to hold out until now, but it IS Oktoberfest time, after all, and Mr. M had been whining about not having had a good German meal for soooo long that I broke down and made his favourite tonight - Schweinshaxe - pork hocks. He claims he only eats them once a year but he is wrong and I can prove it (for once)! Thanks to my blog I was able to check and found that the last time he indulged was in January 2006. I even wrote a post about it.

Anyway, I made three smallish ones this time, seasoned with onion, bay leaf, juniper berries, cloves and, of course, beer. Oktoberfest beer, naturally. Potato dumplings and sauerkraut rounded off the meal. If you only eat the lean meat and discard the fatty skin (or give it to your husband and let HIM clog his arteries) this meal probably won't kill you.




In other artery-clogging news, I tackled still more of those silly plums on Friday and made this cake.





It's really, really easy and actually fairly low-fat (if you leave off the whipped cream!). You can use almost any kind of fruit you like, fresh or canned - the amount will depend on the size of your pan. I've used peaches with great success and I'm sure apricots would also be lovely. I fiddled a bit with the streusel recipe and added a bit more butter along with some flour and a couple of spoonfuls of rolled oats until I got a consistency I liked. The glaze is optional, but since this cake is not too sweet, I think it adds a nice touch. I prefer a thinner cake so I made mine in a 10-in flan pan.

Streusel Plum Cake (from The Lighthearted Cookbook by Anne Lindsay)

1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 cans (each 14 oz/398 ml) plums, drained, or 2 cups halved ripe plums

Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp soft butter or margarine
1 tsp cinnamon

Glaze:
1/4 cup icing (confectioner's) sugar
1 tsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

Grease 9-in/2.5 L square cake pan. (or use greased 9 or 10 in. springform or flan pan with removable bottom).

In large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and egg yolks until fluffy. Combine flour and baking powder; beat into egg mixture alternately with milk. In separate bowl, beat eggs whites until stiff but not dry; fold into batter. Turn into prepared pan. Halve and pit plums and arrange over top, cut side up.

Streusel topping: In small bowl, combine brown sugar, butter and cinnamon; mix well and sprinkle over fruit.

Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for 35 to 45 mins (depending on size of pan used)or until top is golden and toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

Glaze: Combine icing sugar, milk and vanilla; mix well. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Variations:
Peach: use 2 fresh peaches, sliced into wedges or 1 can sliced peaches, thoroughly drained

Apple: Use 2 apples (peeled or unpeeled is your choice), sliced into thin wedges

Pear: Use 2 pears, sliced into wedges or 1 can sliced pears, thoroughly drained.