A Luscious Plum Torte for Summer

I have two posts in mind that I hope to commit to writing this weekend, one somewhat reflective in nature, the other more cheering. Let's start with the cheering -- hence food-related  -- post. 

A few days ago my son Quentin texted me "Is there a way you can send your new york times plum cake recipe? I kind of want it for my b day."  My immediate reply:  "Nothing would make me happier!"

The plum cake Quentin was referring to is Marian Burros's Plum Torte, a recipe originally published in 1982. It was so popular that in those pre-internet days it was apparently published annually for a number of years. My mother clipped her own copy from the Times in 1984, in an article entitled Purple Plums: From Tree to Torte. (The link does not include the cute graphic in the original article, not to mention that the formatting of the recipe is a mess. The text, however, is charming.)  My photocopy of the clipping includes my mother's handwritten notation "TRY -- Looks easy." I can't remember if Mom actually ever made it (she has clipped many a recipe that never made it to table, but come to think of it, so have I), but at some point I initiated myself into the wonder of this simple and delicious torte. I know that my husband has made it a number of times as well.

A variation of Burros's plum torte also appears in Richard Sax's Classic Home Desserts. Sax rechristens it "All-Time Best Summer Fruit Torte" and turns it into a peach or nectarine and blueberry cake, with Burros's 12 purple plums merely listed at the end of the recipe as a variation. Sax does, however, give Burros full credit for the original recipe, noting that it first appeared in her 1960 The Easy But Elegant Cookbook. Sax also suggests the felicitous addition of vanilla, but erroneously lists a tablespoon of baking powder rather than Burros's teaspoon.  Trust me on this; it should be a teaspoon.

This might be a good place to summarize my cook's notes:
As to ingredients, it's definitely a teaspoon of baking powder, not a tablespoon, and thumbs up to Sax's teaspoon of vanilla. Use of cinnamon and lemon juice depends on the fruit and your personal taste. As to the pan, either 8 or 9 inches is fine; ten seems big to me. Burros specifies a spring-form pan, which I think best, as you can easily remove the cake, with its lovely pattern of plums on top, to a serving plate, but a regular round cake pan (as Sax uses) also works. But honestly, if you don't have at least one spring-form pan, you really should, as there are many not-especially-pricey models out there. My Kaiser brand pans were bought years ago, were downright inexpensive, not even nonstick, and work fine. Finally, as many reviewers noted, Burros' cooking time of one hour is excessive. Sax says 45 minutes; I'd at least take a look after 30.  Here's a picture of Kaiser's "basic" spring-form pan like the ones I own.


I was also delighted to discover in my search that many food-related websites and other bloggers have sung the praises of this plain, buttery, plum-or-fruit-laden treat. A good photo of the finished product is found at Kvell in the Kitchen. Looks like The Kveller didn't use a spring-form, although she does engage in some pretty rhapsodic prose about the torte itself.

And finally, I don't want to be a total purist here; other fruits of course can be substituted as plums are not always easy to find, not to mention seasonal. As one reviewer noted: "Use any kind of nice fruit or berries, just make sure that they are firm, otherwise they can release too much juice during baking." Almond extract instead of vanilla doesn't sound like a bad idea either, nor does adding a little almond flour, but these are ideas I have not yet tried out. Last but not least: whipped cream is an optional but fine finishing touch.

So happy birthday, dearest Quentin! I only wish I could be there to make and share a plum torte with you and Mary and Dino and Bradley and Dad. Can I at least buy you a gift of a spring-form pan?