Plum Torte with Olive Oil
Adapted from Marian Burros’ (NYT) Famous Purple Plum Torte.
We have an Italian prune plum tree in the garden so this has become a regular way to use up the bounty for us but it can be made just as well with store-bought plums. You can sub apples, pears, peaches, nectarines or berries for the plums.
This cake freezes quite well after it has been baked and cooled completely and wrapped well in plastic and/or foil.
- 200 grams granulated white sugar (1c plus 1-2T for topping)
- 118 milliliters olive oil (1/2c)
- 2 large eggs
- 135 grams all-purpose flour (1c, we used organic, unbleached - you could probably sub half whole wheat pastry flour)
- 5 grams baking powder (1t)
- 1 pinch salt
- 12 smallish plums (halved and pitted)
- 10 milliliters fresh lemon juice (2t, optional)
- 1-3 teaspoon ground cinnamon (you can sub another spice here, like cardamom, but you might want to use less, like 1/2t)
Preheat the oven to 177C/350°F.
Using a whisk, 'cream' the sugar and olive oil together until fully mixed, a little lighter in colour, and the sugar is starting to dissolve. Whisk in the eggs until fully incorporated.
Switch to a rubber/silicone spatula. Sprinkle the flour, baking powder and salt over the olive oil mixture and mix/fold just enough so that you don't see any powdery bits.
Pour the batter into an ungreased 20 to 25cm (8 to 10-inch) pan. It can be a springform, square, or a round cake pan. Scrape everything out of the mixing bowl and make sure the batter goes all the way to the inside edges of the pan.
Place the plums cut-side down in one layer all over the top of the batter. Sprinkle with optional lemon juice. Sprinkle 1-3t (3t=1T) cinnamon over the top - you might want to start with the smaller amount the first time you make this cake. Sprinkle 1 to 2T of sugar over the cinnamon. How much sugar you use is determined by how sweet your fruit is and how much you like a crackled top on your cake (more sugar = sweeter and more of a crust).
Bake for about 45 minutes. Test for doneness by sticking a skewer or a toothpick into the middle of the cake. It should come out clean or with a little crumb or two but it shouldn't be goopy. If it looks like there is batter/goop on your skewer, pop the torte back in the oven for a bit.
When the torte is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool on a rack for 15-20 minutes. Run a knife around the outside and let cool completely.
