This plum torte, more of a cake, is one of my favorite “family recipes.” It’s elegant enough to take to friends but easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner. As it turns out, it is no family recipe at all but rather the most popular recipe in the history of the New York Times. Just eight ingredients, even the most hapless cook can make it successfully. It’s the first dessert I ever baked all by myself, when I was just eight years old. Get creative—try different fruits (mango is not that terrific). And if you’re lucky enough to have any left over, it makes a really great breakfast.
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
¾ cups sugar
1 cup unbleached flour, not packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
Large pinch kosher salt
4 medium-sized, pitted plums (or any other stone fruit)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Steps:
1. Arrange the rack in the lower third or middle rack of the oven, and preheat it to 350 degrees.
2. Start by mixing the butter in a stand or hand-held mixer and slowly add in sugar. Cream the two together.
3. Once the butter and sugar are creamed together, add in two eggs. After you mix the eggs in with the butter, scrape the sides of the bowl, and add in one teaspoon of vanilla.
4. Measure the dry ingredients in another bowl. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Then add it into the wet ingredients, and mix until it is all combined.
5. Cut the fruit into sixths or eighths, making sure to cut out the pits and stems. The slices should be roughly ½ to ¾ inches.
7. Place the batter into the pan. It may be sticky, but you can use a knife to spread the batter to the edges for the pan. Then place on the fruit in any arrangement, making sure they aren’t so close that they touch.
8. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. To test if it is done, insert a cake tester in the center until it comes out clean. Then remove the torte from the oven, and let it cool.
9. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar, and serve plain or with vanilla ice cream.
Credits:
All photos by Lucy Dockter ’23