Happy birthday to me! I was going to coffee this morning at a friend’s house, and I said I would bring cake. Gotta use those plums! This is my favorite plum torte recipe; you can find it here on my blog. It’s a mash-up of NYTimes, Smitten Kitchen, and Food52. My take on it subs in cornmeal for part of the flour.
Someone mentioned to me that the plums don’t sink as much if you put them cut side up, that the plums turn into a glaze with all that sugar and cinnamon. So I tried it yesterday. (No picture, sorry.) The plums didn’t sink in as much, true. But it looked more like a cake with plums on it, rather than a plum infused cake. Would that make a difference in the taste and texture?
I wanted this morning’s torte to be perfect, so we had to taste it. For science. I knew I had enough plums for two cakes, and I would bake a second torte whichever way I liked better.
Cut side down was the clear winner. All that juicy goodness goes into the torte, instead of sitting on top. I baked another one last night. Here’s this morning’s torte, with yogurt/fruit/nut parfaits, and candied bacon (on the green plate).
The little purple Italian plums are in season, and my friend Ann gave me some. They’re so good for snacking, and also for cake!
Clockwise: Plums, placed, cinnamon sugared, baked
I love the way the batter rises up around the plums, so they’re just peeking out. Here’s the recipe from 2021.
Plum Torte
3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) salted butter, softened 2 large eggs 3/4 cup all purpose flour plus 1/4 cup corn meal 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 10 – 12 small plums, cut in half and pitted 1 tablespoon chunky sugar and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon for garnish
Cream sugar and butter, beat in eggs, beat in dry ingredients. The batter is quite thick. I put mine in an 8” springform pan (lined with parchment paper), because that’s the one I have. Top with plums, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or til done. Cool, remove from pan, celebrate!
It’s starting to feel like fall. School is in session; I can tell by the kids passing by on their way to the local school. Plum cake is also a sign of fall. And so is woolly knitting!
You know I have a long-standing passion for yellow plum jam. Yellow plums are my all time favorite for jamming, and and for eating.
I made 2 batches (20 half pint jars) of ginger/plum/bourbon jam, from just two bowls of plums from my friend Linda. I thought I was done for the year.
Darn kids, I thought. Who’s dropping lunch reject plums on my dried up front lawn? Then I looked up, and realized the truth. The plum trees that I planted 10 years ago, that never produced fruit (well, one tree made two plums about 5 years ago), have decided that this is the year. Maybe they like being heat stressed, or they think they need to reproduce because the heat is going to kill them. Whatever.
I got on a ladder, and picked 19 plums. That’s the harvest, between the two trees. They’re oddly large, and the fruit is firm, like an Italian prune. I think they’re a Japanese plum, but I’m not sure; 2011 was a long time ago. The plums aren’t especially juicy, and they’re fairly tart. I don’t want to make more jam; purple plum jam isn’t as delicious as yellow plum jam, at least to me. What to do?
I put out the question on FB, and the answer was: Plum Torte. The famous NYTimes recipe from Marian Burros, to be precise. I remembered that Smitten Kitchen also had a take on it, and another friend referred to the Food52 version. Excellent references, all. I did a mashup of the three using:
3/4 cup all purpose flour plus 1/4 cup corn meal 1 teaspoon baking powder Large pinch of salt 3/4 granulated sugar 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) salted butter, softened 2 large eggs 5 plums quartered and pitted (because mine are so big) (10 – 12 small plums, normally) omitted the fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon chunky sugar and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon for garnish
Cream sugar and butter, beat in eggs, beat in dry ingredients. I put mine in an 8” springform pan (lined with parchment paper), because that’s the one I have. Top with plums, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or til done. Cool, remove from pan, celebrate!
I told you the plums are oddly large. The recipes call for 12 small Italian plums, halved, and a 9” pan. If I had halved the plums, I could probably only fit 4 in the pan, so I cut them lengthwise, twice, and made a flower/sunburst with them. They sink into the cake,, so you’d never know, and I forgot to take a picture before baking. I’m not a real food blogger!
We loved this so much, I had to make it a second time, because we still have a few plums left. Also, I wanted to tweak it a bit; I used more corn meal the first time, and it was crunchier than I like. I have medium grind cornmeal, because I use it under pizza on the pizza stone. A finer grind would be ideal, but I don’t use corn meal often enough to have more in the pantry.
This cake is actually for dessert tonight, but I wanted to take a picture for you. And now I have to taste it. Such a sacrifice. Delicious!
Find my patterns on Ravelry: Michele Bernstein Designs
Here are some of my favorites, and the newest. Many of my designs are also available through my Payhip store.
PDXKnitterati 