Recipe from the New York Times, Original Plum Torte, by Marian Burrows
This is a favorite to make for guests. The results are always wonderful as well as the raves.
INGREDIENTS
- ¾ to 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt (optional)
- 2 eggs
- 24 halves of pitted Italian purple prune plums (available end of summer, early fall)
- Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon, for topping
PREPARATION
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.
- Spoon the batter into a springform pan of 8, 9 or 10 inches. ( I spread parchment paper onto the bottom of a buttered springform pan which can be peeled off later.) *Note: I recently made this torte in a Pyrex Square Glass Baking Dish (8in x 8in x 2.5in). After I buttered the dish, I sprinkled sugar on the sides and bottom. This made it easy to cut and serve squares straight from the baking dish. Eight plums should be enough.
- Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.
- Bake 1 hour, approximately. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream. (To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.)
You can replace the plums with sliced apples. Arrange 2-3 thinly sliced apples in closely fitted concentric circles on top of the dough. I have not been successful with other fruits.
My Picky Mother 