Plum Torte

The season for stone fruits is almost over, but luckily there are still plenty of plums. I stumbled on some fantastic plums. They were juice and sweet, with just a hint of tartness. Just the way I like them. After eating a bunch I still had a lot leftover and I wanted to put them to good use. And so I set out to find a good recipe for something nice.

I found a recipe of Amanda Hesser's Purple Plum Torte. It sounded very easy and delicious so I set to work. And it turned out amazing. Yes, the plums sunk to the bottom, but that was supposed to happen this time! It looks like a very dense cake, but it isn't. It is light, slightly sweet and the plums are fruity and soft with still that slight tartness in them. Lovely.

I took the cake over to my parents-in-law and it was almost gone when I left. It didn't last long. Apparently this cake freezes very well, but I have yet to try that out. It is, however, extremely simple to make, so that alone is reason enough to give this recipe a try!

Recipe

Plum Torte

Yield:  1 9-inch torte

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
A large pinch of salt
1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1 stick of butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
10-12 plums, halved and pitted (enough to fit in the pan)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F).

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a mixer beat together the sugar and butter until creamy and light in color.

Beat in the dry ingredients and then the eggs.

Scrape the batter into an ungreased 9-inch springform pan.

Cover the top of the batter with the plums, skin side up.

Sprinkle the top of the batter and plums with the remaining tablespoon of sugar, the lemonjuice and the cinnamon.

Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until the cake is golden.

Let the cake cool on a rack, then unmold.

Source: slightly adapted from The Essential New York Times Cookbook, Amanda Hesser