Plum Torte-Smitten Kitchen

Marian Burros’s plum torte is a cult classic in which a mass of plums are coated with cinnamon sugar and baked into a pancake-like batter, where they melt into pie-like pockets and you definitely don’t want to miss it. It’s the perfect September baked good. This is ideal with blueish/purple Italian prune plums, but if you can’t find them, other plums will do. The internet is full of riffs on the cake, like cutting the sugar back to 3/4 cup (feel free to, although I didn’t find the 1 cup too sweet at all), with or without lemon juice, ranges of cinnamon (1 teaspoon is the original amount; 1 tablespoon was a typo that’s not bad at all, but I usually use the smaller amount). I’m not immune, either: I sometimes start by browning the butter and letting it cool to room temp before whisking the batter together by hand. In 2023, I’ve made a few minor updates: Sharing how I one-bowl the cake,and bumping up the salt (previously: a large pinch).

2024 Plum Torte Updates

  • 1 cup (200 grams) plus 1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (use less for sweeter plums)
  • 1/2 cup (115 grams or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder (ideally aluminum-free)
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 12 smallish purple Italian purple plums, halved and pitted
  • 2 teaspoons (10 grams) fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch springform [I have this one] with butter or nonstick spray. For even easier removal, line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, beat butter and 1 cup (200 grams) of the sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy and lighter in color. Add the eggs, one at a time and scraping down the bowl. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt over batter and mix it until just combined. 

Spoon batter into prepared cake pan and smooth the top. Arrange the plum tightly in the pan, skin side up, all over the batter, covering it. Sprinkle the top with lemon juice, then cinnamon, then remaining sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into a center part of the cake comes out free of batter (but of course not plum juice), about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on rack.

Once cool, if you can stand it, and I highly recommend trying, leave it at room temperature overnight as this cake is even better on the second day, when those plum juices further release into the cake around it, becoming not just “cake with plum,” but cakeplumughyum (official terminology, there). If planning more than 2 to 3 days out, I’ll store the cake in the fridge for longevity.

winter veggie torte from gardenandtable.net

I started with very thinly sliced sweet potato, then each layer a different veg, sprinkling grated cheese in between and ending with the sweet potato on top.

I used a 6 inch springform pan that was deep and allowed me to have many layers, just remember to press down in between, place the pan on a baking sheet so you won’t have drips in your oven when cooking and cover the top with foil. Roast at 425 for 20 minutes, then take the foil off and roast another 15 minutes until the top is golden. Let it rest for 30 minutes before you slice it into wedges.

Original Plum Torte NY times

  • ¾ to 14torte-web-master768-v21 cup sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt (optional)
  • 2 eggs
  • 24 halves pitted purple plums
  • Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon, for topping
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.
  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 and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.
  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.)