I’ve heard about the deliciousness of the plum torte for ages, but I never tried it in spite of the fact that I like plums. In fact, my friend Sybille who’s from Germany told me that it was and still is a favorite in German homes and bakeries in the late summer.
Recently, I came upon the Original Plum Torte recipe by Marian Burros published in the New York Times. Jeff had given me a bunch of plums, and I decided to do something with them. I made the plum torte.
This torte (not a tart, not a cake, not a crisp) was unbelievably delicious and very easy to make. Before plum season is over, make this easy, elegant, and totally yummy dessert. It’s perfect for guests or for your family. Heck, make it just for yourself!
Here it is with a slight change from the original recipe. The original recommended using 24 plum halves!! They must have been tiny plums because they would never have fit!!
Almost Original Plum Torte
Ingredients
- 1 c. sugar
- 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
- 1 c. unbleached flour, sifted after you measure out 1 c.
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 4 regular size plums halved and pitted (I used 2 black plums & 2 red plums ‘coz that’s what I had. Also they were not ripe, but they were not rock hard either.)
- sugar, fresh lemon juice and powdered cinnamon for topping
- Grease a springform pan (I used PAM for baking.) Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Cream the sugar and softened butter. (I softened the butter by microwaving a tall glass with water till boiling. Then I emptied the glass and put the stick of butter in the glass and covered it. In about 5 minutes, it was softened.)
- Add the sifted flour, baking powder, salt, and eggs to the bowl and beat well. (I used my KitchenAid. After beating, the batter was unlike any other I recall. It was thick and a little dry because there is no liquid other than the eggs added to it. I was a little concerned, but no need to be.)
- Spoon the batter into the greased springform pan (mine was a 9 inch pan). If you have a spatula, use it to smooth out the batter and make sure it fills the bottom of the pan completely.
- Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle the top of the batter with a little lemon juice (I used about a teaspoon or so) and sugar (I had raw sugar/turbinado and I used that on top because it has bigger crystals and is a little crunchy.) Then sprinkle the top with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
- Bake for 1 hour till the top is golden but not burnt (If the cake isn’t set, cover the outside with foil so it doesn’t burn). Bake till a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, set it on a rack and let the cake cool for about 5 minutes before you remove the top of the springform pan.
- After it cools, you can freeze this torte by wrapping it in double aluminum foil or plastic wrap and a single layer of foil, place in a plastic bag and freeze. However, I strongly advise eating it once it cools down a bit. The plums have softened and are quite hot! Service with whipped cream or not.
The cake within the plum torte has a slightly crunchy crust, but the interior is has a nice, soft crumb. As the plums cook, they release their liquid. Parts of my torte’s interior were almost a little pudding like (maybe I should have baked it for another 5 minutes?), but the texture was so wonderful that I don’t feel like it was a mistake.
I hope you will try making this easy Plum Torte. I don’t think you will regret it!
