Plum Torte

Plum Torte, a simple to make butter cake topped with Italian prune plums, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon baked in a spring-form pan.  New York Times food columnist Marian Burros was given a recipe for a plum torte soon after she married.  She published the recipe for the first time in 1983. The paper continued to run it for the remainder of the decade every single September, until one year they said enough is enough. But people noticed, and they were not happy. They sent angry letters demanding the recipe be reprinted. So, The Times printed it one more time, but with a note urging people to clip it out and laminate it inside their cupboard!

The beauty of this torte is that it doesn’t require plums to be delicious. You can substitute berries, peaches, pears, apples—most any fruit—fresh, canned, or frozen. The thing is, it’s so simple, that in spite of its hallowed status as an all-time favorite, I don’t see how you could forget this recipe!

The plum has enough tang to stay interesting in a sweet dessert, and it also tends to bake into a jammy, gooey texture.

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Plum Torte

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Rating: 5
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Course

dessert

Keyword

plum torte

Servings

MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients

• 3/4 - 1 cup sugar PLUS a 1 Tbsp for sprinkling
• 1/2 cup butter,
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 12 ripe, Italian purple plums OR 6 red plums
• 2 tsp lemon juice or more or less depending on the tartness of plums
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Course dessert Keyword plum torte Servings MetricUS Imperial Ingredients 3/4 - 1 cup sugar PLUS a 1 Tbsp for sprinkling 1/2 cup butter, 2 large eggs 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 12 ripe, Italian purple plums OR 6 red plums 2 tsp lemon juice or more or less depending on the tartness of plums 1 tsp cinnamon

Votes: 1 Rating: 5 You: Rate this recipe!

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease an 8" or 9" springform pan.
2. Cream the butter & sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl. Add the eggs; beat until smooth and light. Scrape the bowl again. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, & salt; add to creamed mixture & mix JUST until fully combined.
3. Pour the batter into the cake pan. Arrange the plums, on top of the cake. Press plums down into batter. Drizzle with lemon juice & sprinkle with a Tbsp of sugar & 1 tsp cinnamon.
4. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, depending on the size of the cake, or until a cake tester comes out clean, and the plums are juicy and bubbling. Let cool before releasing the cake from the springform pan.