The Original Plum Torte Recipe

This was originally printed in the New York Times, Wednesday September 9, 1992 in an article called Eating Well by Marian Burros.

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 c sugar
• 1/2 c unsalted butter
• 1 c flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch salt, optional
• 2 eggs
• 12 Italian prune plums
• Sugar and lemon juice for topping
• 1 tsp cinnamon, or to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar in a bowl. Add flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well. Spoon the batter into an 8”, 9”, or 10” spring form pan. Split and pit the plums and place the halves, skin side up, on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon, depending o the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake about an hour. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and then serve plain or with whipped cream. Yield: 8 servings. Note: to freeze, double wrap torte in aluminum foil place in plastic bag, and seal. To serve, defrost and reheat briefly at 300 degrees.