Platz: Fruit Dessert Square Bar

Platz?! This German crowd favourite has a plain base like most squares and bars, a fruity layer, and a buttery crumb topping. How about a drizzle of icing for the sweet tooth? Try this platz fruit dessert!

My grandma gave me this recipe, and now it is a summer BBQ favourite, making a full (or half) cookie sheet of delicious summer fruit goodness. Whatever fruit is in season is the best fruit to use – rhubarb, berries, peaches (mmm), apple. Then, in winter, whatever fruit is chopped and frozen is the next best! Apple platz served warm on a winter night is my favourite, almost a cheater apple pie.

How to Make Platz

Base

For the base, cut together the flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening with a pastry cutter, fork or fingers. It should end up flaky and crumbly.

I have made this recipe with margarine, because that is what was used, growing up, and the original recipe calls for it, but I advise against it. The texture and flavour are much better with lard or butter.

Stir in the milk and then work and kneed it until it comes together. It should hold together and not be sticky. If it is sticky, add more flour.

Let the dough rest for at least five minutes to make spreading it out easier. It won’t keep shrinking back from the edges. Spread it out on the cookie sheet with your hands in a rolling motion.

Fruit Layer

Chop fruit into small pieces. Spread over the base in an approximate single layer.  Sprinkle with sugar. The amount of sugar may depend on the fruit you use. Rhubarb is going to need a lot more sugar than peaches!

Sometimes I have to be nice to the picky eaters who don’t eat rhubarb (the dear husband, to name one), and do a row of apple – kind of like a half and half pizza.

You can use different sugars or sweeteners. Typically, I would use white sugar for rhubarb or berries, and brown sugar for apples or peaches. I also like to sprinkle most platzes with cinnamon.

Topping

This topping I have modified with much testing. I have made this with margarine and lard, but the topping requires butter. This applies to fruit crisps as well – margarine and lard create a melted even layer of topping, not the chunky streusel that you can get with real butter.

Soften the butter or use your fingers to crumble it up with the flour and sugar. I broke my pastry cutter on cold butter – it was a nice one, too. My streusel uses 25% less sugar than the original.

The streusel should come together to form a rough ball. Then crumble it up into coarse chunks on top of the fruit.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F. It is done when the bottom of the platz starts to turn golden brown.

For the sweet tooth, or a nice bright streak, drizzle icing over the cooled cake with a spoon or hole in a bag (though it gets mighty messy).

For basic icing, melt a tablespoon of butter or crumble it with a cup of icing sugar. Add 1-2 teaspoons of milk, and a dash of vanilla. Add more icing sugar or milk to make a drizzling consistency.

Let’s face it, most times I’m running out of time or just too lazy to add icing. Serving it warm is a good stand in!

For those who have smaller parties, you know, those who don’t have a dozen growing kids and teenagers to feed at your gatherings, you could make a half recipe in a 9×13 pan. Actually, leftovers are a great frozen treat, too! (and the kids are less likely to find the leftovers in the freezer…)

So whether you pronounce it platz with a hard “a” sound, a short “o” sound or long “o” sound, or ploutz, like a good Mennonite (sounds like house with a German accent), try out this fruity favourite. I hear the peaches and blueberries calling my name for my next platz fruit dessert.

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