Marian Burros published this torte recipe in the
New York Times in 1982, bringing it back by request
every September until 1989, rarely varying a thing.
By the last year, the headline was “Once More (Sigh), The Plum Torte.”
By the last year, the headline was “Once More (Sigh), The Plum Torte.”
Fifteen years later, when Amanda
Hesser polled the Times’s readership for their
favorite (and most stained) recipes for The Essential New
York Times Cookbook, this one still had more than three times the votes
of any other.
Where does the attachment come from? It may be
that the recipe is simple in method and flawless in results: The plums are
perched in a batter that puffs up elegantly around them. The instructions also
allow a rare versatility for a baked good—namely, how to balance the relative
sweetness or sourness of your plums (with more or less sugar and lemon strewn
across the top). Why mess with a good thing? Many of Burros’s readers saw no
reason to.
Serves 8
¾ cup (150g) sugar, plus more for
topping
½ cup (115g) unsalted butter,
softened
1 cup (125g) unbleached
all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking
powder
Pinch of salt
(optional)
2 large eggs
24 halves small, pitted purple
plums (or as many as will fit on your cake)
Fresh lemon juice, for
topping
Ground cinnamon, for
topping
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
2 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
of 8, 9, or 10 inches (20, 23, or 25cm). 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.
3 Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, approximately, until a
cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and cool; refrigerate
or freeze if desired (but first, double-wrap the torte in foil, place in a
plastic bag, and seal). Or cool to lukewarm, and serve. To serve a torte that
has been frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300°F (150°C).
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