Original Plum Torte

By Marian Burros

Original Plum Torte
Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Liza Jernow.
Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes
Rating
5(19,531)
Comments
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The Times published Marian Burros’s recipe for Plum Torte every September from 1983 until 1989, when the editors determined that enough was enough. The recipe was to be printed for the last time that year. “To counter anticipated protests,” Ms. Burros wrote a few years later, “the recipe was printed in larger type than usual with a broken-line border around it to encourage clipping.” It didn’t help. The paper was flooded with angry letters. “The appearance of the recipe, like the torte itself, is bittersweet,” wrote a reader in Tarrytown, N.Y. “Summer is leaving, fall is coming. That's what your annual recipe is all about. Don't be grumpy about it.” We are not! And we pledge that every year, as summer gives way to fall, we will make sure that the recipe is easily available to one and all. The original 1983 recipe called for 1 cup sugar; the 1989 version reduced that to ¾ cup. We give both options below. Here are five ways to adapt the torte.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings
  • ¾ to 1cup sugar
  • ½cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1cup unbleached flour, sifted
  • 1teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt (optional)
  • 2eggs
  • 24halves pitted purple plums
  • Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon, for topping
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

366 calories; 13 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 61 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 45 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 81 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.

  3. Step 3

    Spoon the batter into a springform pan of 8, 9 or 10 inches. 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.

  4. Step 4

    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.)

Tip
  • To freeze, double-wrap the torte in foil, place in a plastic bag and seal.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
19,531 user ratings
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Comments

Mary

Hi - I'd like clarification on the flour --- 1 C flour, sifted - is that one cup of flour and sift and add, or sift the flour to equal one cup of flour - makes a difference. Thank you.

Jan Wong

In 1988 my Toronto newspaper was about to post me to Beijing as a foreign correspondent. Alas, my house wasn't selling. I'd read that the fragrance of baking helps so I bought a frozen loaf of bread, and warmed it in the oven. No sale. Desperate, I baked this torte for an open house. Ta-dah! With the kitchen infused with the sweet perfume of Original Plum Torte, the house sold.

KLD

Sifted flour means sift then measure.
Flour, sifted means measure them sift.

Nancy

This will make you a plum lover!!! Forget the springform. If you don’t have one, I used a 9in round cake pan that was well greased with a parchment sling. It was perfect. Been wanting to make this for years but Marion’s passing was my motivation. To a cook who inspired us all, may she rest in peace.

India

Scrumptious, even when you mess it up. I just made two - one with Italian plums in a 10 inch springform and the other with ripe black plums sliced and spread in a fan spiral pattern in a 9 inch. I think I'll go for even less than 3/4 cups sugar next time. (An older German neighbor told me that her mother always put the skins side down so the torte didn't get soggy).

Margaret

I substitute almond flour for 1/3 of the flour and add a few drops of almond extract. Toss the fruit in rum, sugar and lemon. Perfect. I make it every year.

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