The original limited edition NYT plum torte
The Times published a recipe every September from 1983-1989 called “The Original Plum Torte.” It was such a beloved recipe and it was always published around the same time in the fall, perhaps evoking some kind of nostalgia for folks, that when they announced they would stop publishing it and printed the recipe extra large so it could be easily clipped out, it was met with angry letters to the editor for years to come. “The appearance of the recipe, like the torte, itself, is bittersweet.” “Summer is leaving, fall is coming. That's what your annual recipe is all about. Don't be grumpy about it.”
We can see why this recipe is so popular - it’s easy to make, requires very few ingredients, only takes an hour plus prep, and freezes well for unexpected dinner parties later on. Big thanks to Pete at Seedling Farm for turning us onto this one, and supplying us with plums when he’s got ‘em! You, too, might just have to make a tradition of it.
gorgeous Italian plums from Seedling
INGREDIENTS
24 halved, pitted Italian plums
3/4 - 1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup flour, sifted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
sugar, lemon juice & cinnamon to top the plums (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat oven to 350. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the flour, eggs, baking powder, salt and mix well. It will be a pretty thick mixture.
Put batter in springform pan, or really whatever - you can bake this thing in just about anything* - and place the plums skin side up on top of the batter. It will feel like you have too many plums. You do not have too many plums. Get a 3 pound bag and go nuts.
Sprinkle with sugar, spritz some lemon juice and add a bit of cinnamon if you desire. We don’t think that sprinkle of sugar is necessary with the Seedling plums.
Cook for an hour.
*Whilst any pan is truly going to be just great for this recipe, after making the torte, reading the comments and using a smaller pan, we do recommend a 9” pan (or a dish large enough to handle 24 plum halves). Also, if you have one free read on the NYT left, it’s for this comment section - folks are obsessed with this torte and have a million and one takes and substitutions and ideas about it and what it means to them.
