​Save me the Plums! - Original Plum Torte

Forgive me the callback to one of my favorite books, "Save me the Plums" by Ruth Reichel, but yes - save me the plums!  Plums will always remind me of the bittersweet end of summer. My dad loves them baked into a pie, and this recipe reminded me of helping to make many of them as the summer slipped into fall.



The New York Times Cooking published this recipe from Marian Burros every September from 1983 until 1989, when the editors determined that enough was enough and printed it for the last time. The uproar was immediate. They next year they printed it so that people could cut it out and put it in their recipe box, but still they readers demanded the appearance of the recipe.  With a recipe with that kind of fan base, I had to give it a go in the Delaney Test Kitchen. And I am so glad I did. Tasting it made me feel like I was 16 again, sampling my latest baked creation in my mom's kitchen and waiting for Dad to come home and enjoy it. And to sit on the screened porch one more time before Fall.

​Original Plum Torte
 
INGREDIENTS:
 
¾ Cup sugar
½ Cup unsalted butter, softened
1 Cup unbleached flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt (optional)
2 eggs
24 halves pitted purple plums (note: I used a 8” pan, and 6 plums, halved, fit perfectly)
Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon, for topping
 
PREPARATION:
 
Step 1:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
 
Step 2:
Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.
 
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, lemon juice and cinnamon, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.
 
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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