Even as iconic a dessert as Marian Burros’ Original Plum Torte can benefit from a bit of improvisation. Although the classic recipe appears each year in the NY Times Cooking section at the peak of plum season, its simplicity lends itself to modest enhancements that can make it even more appealing.
I make desserts infrequently, but was moved to make the torte this past weekend because of the gorgeous Damson Plums I found at the Charlotte Regional Farmer’s Market. (Oddly, the original recipe doesn’t specify the type of plum to use, and my guess is that Marian used one of the varieties of black plums, given the lovely oozing purplish jam in the gorgeous photo that accompanies the recipe.) Since the season for Damson Plums in the Carolinas is oh-so-short (late August to late September), I tasted a few at Gayle’s Garden (one of my favorite purveyors) and verified that the small, oval purple plums were slightly sweet with a pleasantly tart undertone, yielding, but still slightly firm. In other words – perfectly ripe for my torte! (By the way, the faint powdery white bloom on the plums doesn’t mean that they are bad – it means that they are freshly picked. The white bloom will wash off easily.)
Now that I’d verified that I had certifiably luscious plums, I took a hard look at the Original Plum Torte recipe. Since my time was limited, I decided to throw caution to the wind and make my torte in the food processor instead of dragging out my stand mixer. I reordered the mixing process by adding the flour last, pulsing it just a few times, and then stirring the batter gently so that the flour was completely incorporated. I also kept the crumb tender by using King Arthur Cake Flour, instead of regular unbleached flour. Last but not least, I reduced the sugar and added ginger and vanilla extract which amped up the flavor of the batter.
However, before I started making the batter, I washed my plums with biokleen produce wash, and then halved and pitted them. I put the halved, pitted plums in a separate bowl and doused them with lemon juice, cinnamon, and sugar for ten minutes while the batter comes together. Frankly, I never liked the idea of placing the plain cut plums on top of the batter, and then sprinkling them with lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon. Macerating the cut plums with the lemon juice, cinnamon and sugar for the ten minutes it takes to make the batter turned out to be an easy and intuitive improvement.
The batter gets poured into a 9″ springform pan that has been thoroughly greased and dusted with flour. (I was also surprised that the original recipe omits mention of how to prepare the pan. Perhaps everyone knows to grease and flour the pan . . . but if you don’t do it, you’ll end up with a torte that is very hard to extract.)
You’ll bake the torte in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about an hour until it is golden brown and incredibly fragrant.
The torte will need an hour or so to cool on a wire rack – so don’t try to remove it from the springform pan too soon!
Although the original recipe suggested serving the torte with whipped cream, that felt like gilding the lily to me. Since local Damson Plums have such a short season, making this dessert signals to me that summer is waning and fall is approaching. I’m glad that instead of being slavish to a classic recipe, I found a way to streamline its preparation and subtlety improve its taste.
Instead of just re-making the original plum torte, why not try my gingery version – or create your own? I’d love to hear about your own unique additions to this lovely classic early fall recipe.
- 10-12 Damson Plums, halved and pitted
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ¼ -1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1-2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- ¼ -1/2 teaspoon ginger (or more, depending on how much you like ginger!)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup unbleached cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a 9" springform pan and dust it with flour. Put the springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Wash your plums, cut them in half, and pit them. Put them in a small bowl with the lemon juice, cinnamon, and sugar for a few minutes while you prepare the batter.
- Put the sugar and butter in the food processor and beat for about 30 seconds. Add the eggs, ginger and vanilla and buzz until smooth.
- Add the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Pulse just a few times, and then use a spatula to make sure that the dry ingredients are completely incorporated into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. Arrange the plum halves that have been macerating in the lemon juice, cinnamon, and sugar cut side down on top of the batter.
- Bake for about 1 hour. Remove the torte from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack. When the torte has cooled (about another hour), loosen the springform band and transfer the torte to a pretty plate (the bottom of the torte will still be on the base of the springform pan.)
- Slice and serve with some Celestial Seasonings Sugar Plum Spice Tea. Simple and delicious!
- PS: Make sure to cover any leftovers with plastic wrap and refrigerate. . . if there are any leftovers!
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