Conference turris::cooks

2543.0. "Plum Torte Recipe" by CSG001::WEINSTEIN (Barbara Weinstein) Tue Jul 31 1990 17:35

Recipe from New York Times.  Printed 6 years in a row, due to popularity.


				Plum Torte 
		  	(or Apple-Cranberry Torte)


1/2 C unsalted butter			12 purple plums, halved and pitted
3/4 C sugar				Sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon (for top)
1 C unbleached flour, sifted  
1 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt (optional)
2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Cream sugar and butter.  Add flour, baking powder, salt and eggs, and 
   beat well.

3. Spoon batter into 8, 9 or 10 inch springform pan.  Place plums, skin 
   side up, on top of batter.  Sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice, 
   depending on sweetness of the fruit.  Sprinkle with approx. 1 tsp of
   cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.

4. Bake 50-60 minutes.  Remove and cool.  Refrigerate or freeze, if desired.  
   Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream.

5. To serve torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat briefly at 300 degrees.


Variation:  Peel, seed, quarter and slice 2-3 large baking apples.  Arrange 
1/2 C of raw cranberries over the batter and top with the apple slices.  
Sprinkle generously with cinnamon.  Squeeze 1/2-1 tbs. lemon juice over the 
apples.  Sprinkle with sugar.

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This recipe is super easy to make and looks beautiful.  The plums sink to 
the bottom as the cake rises and you end up with a lovely pattern.

I made the plum version in a 9 inch springform pan and used 8 large sized 
plums.  It took 50 min. to cook.  I refrigerated the torte and served it 
cold.  The recipe says nothing about greasing pan.  I greased the pan, but 
could not get the bottom of the cake off easily.  I suggest using waxed 
or parchment paper on the bottom.  The recipe does say to line the pan with 
heavy duty aluminum foil if you want to freeze the torte so that it can be 
lifted after it has cooled.

Re .1

Thanks Diane.  I could say the same about all your entries here.

New info -- My sister, from whom I got this recipe, says not to grease the 
pan.  It will still be a bit difficult to get out, but easier than with the 
greasing.  Also, she made the same recipe this weekend spreading a layer of
blueberries on top instead.  They did not sink to the bottom, so the cake 
was easier to get out, but also not as pretty.  She said it was delicious.