Marian Burros’ Famous Plum Torte

My grandparents have a tiny cottage on Lake Erie. As a child I spent countless afternoons escaping the heat of the city, feeling the cool breeze coming in off the bluff, staring out at the water; endless blue. My sister and I would spend hours swinging on an old swing set next door, we would pick apples in the orchard across the street, take long walks with my grandparents towards Oxley. The cottage was where we spent many summer holidays and family reunions, crowded in a kitchen that barely fit two people, a tiny washroom, but a large farm table that welcomed everyone.

My grandparents are selling their cottage. My adult brain understands that the upkeep is too difficult for them, both in their 80s. The drive from the city has become long. What was once a source of joy and camaraderie feels now only a burden. But the child in me feels a melancholy longing, not only for the small brown cottage on the lake, but for my grandparents, for my childhood, for a time which in actuality passed ages ago but feels newly ending.

My husband and I brought our children out to the Lake last weekend; in part to say goodbye. They swam in the cold water, log rolled down the bluff, and played on the swing next door. I cooked my last meal in that tiny kitchen.

This recipe is almost as old as my cottage memories. It has been published in several iterations in the New York Times since the early 1980s. It is a simple cake that celebrates that moment when summer is ending. The plums breakdown into the cake and leave pockets of literal bittersweet jam. While a stand mixer or beaters will help, I can tell you that this cake comes together with only a fork.

This recipe would be prettier with purple plums, but I had yellow so that is what I used. The cake keeps well for a few days and in fact tastes better the second and third day.

Marian Burros’ Famous Plum Torte

From NYT Cooking

1 cup sugar, plus an additional Tbsp for sprinkling
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted if needed
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 eggs
12-14 small plums, halved and pitted (the number will depend on the size of your plums)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon, for sprinkling

Heat the oven to 350F. Sift or whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a larger bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy and light in colour. Add the eggs, one at a time and scraping down the bowl, then the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

Spoon batter into a lightly greased 9-inch springform pan and smooth the top. Arrange the plumbs, skin side up, all over the batter, covering it. Sprinkle the top with the lemon juice, then cinnamon, then the remaining sugar.

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