 "Pin It")
Plum Torte (Κεικ με Δαμάσκηνα)
Serves 8
Adapted from The New York Times
Plum Torte is one of the New York Times most requested recipes of all times. First created by Lois Levine and popularized by Marion Burros in her Times column, Plum Torte is moist, buttery, and absolutely delicious. It goes together in minutes, but seems as if it takes a lot of effort. Although the recipe calls for a 9″ springform pan, you can also use an 8”or 10” springform or 9” square pan; the pan’s size may affect cooking time. Any other fruit may be substituted for the plums; 2 cups of blueberries are particularly good. The Times suggests making the torte with apples and cranberries: use 1/2 cup raw cranberries and 2-3 peeled, seeded, and quartered apples. Regarding substitutions, the original author advises, “If you use a juicy fruit like peaches, you may want to sprinkle a bit of flour over the fruit before putting the rest of the topping on.”
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
12 Italian prune plums (or other fruit)
Topping: 2 Tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, mixed together
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cream sugar and butter in bowl. Add eggs, salt, and baking powder and beat well. Mix in flour until thoroughly combined. Scrape batter into 9” springform pan, spread batter out evenly, and smooth top. Place plum halves, skin side up, on top of batter. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon topping. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick stuck into cakey part of torte comes out clean.
Cool torte on rack. After 10 minutes remove sides of springform pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.
NOTE: Plum Torte freezes well. Double-wrap a cooled cake in foil, put in a plastic bag, and freeze. When ready to serve, defrost, preheat the oven to 300°F, and reheat for 10 minutes or until warmed through.