Legendary plum torte from New York Times: Original recipe for 22 cm pan
Plum cake (photo: Styler)
The New York Times plum cake is a famous American dessert made with plums, buttery dough, and cinnamon. The original recipe is designed for an 8-, 9-, or 10-inch pan (approximately 20–23 and 25 centimeters), while adapted proportions can be used for a 21–22 cm pan.
RBC-Ukraine explains how to make the famous New York Times plum cake and what adapted proportions to use for a 22 cm pan.
The recipe for the plum cake, known as the Original Plum Torte, was first published in The New York Times in 1983. Its creator was food editor Marian Burros.
The cake became so popular with readers that the newspaper brought the recipe back every year for several years. Today, it remains one of The New York Times’ best-known recipes and is especially perfect for plum season.
The New York Times original plum cake recipe
The classic recipe makes approximately 8 servings. It calls for simple ingredients, with most of the work going into preparing the batter.
Ingredients
- three-quarters to 1 full cup of sugar;
- half a cup of unsalted butter, softened;
- 1 cup of sifted flour;
- 1 tsp baking powder;
- a pinch of salt;
- 2 eggs;
- 12 plums, halved;
- sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon for sprinkling.
The amount of sugar can be adjusted depending on how sweet the plums are. It is the combination of slightly tart fruit with sweet batter and cinnamon that makes this cake especially characteristic of the fall version of the recipe.
How to make the classic cake
First, beat the softened butter with the sugar until creamy. Then add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and mix until smooth.
Transfer the batter to a springform pan measuring 8, 9, or 10 inches (approximately 20–23 and 25 centimeters). Arrange the plum halves tightly on top, skin side up.
Then sprinkle the fruit with sugar and add a little lemon juice and cinnamon.
Bake the cake for approximately 1 hour at 350°F, which is about 175–180°C. Allow the finished cake to cool.
Proportions for a 21–22 cm pan
For a smaller pan, you can use an adapted version of the recipe shared on Instagram by food blogger “anny.cooking.” The adapted recipe changes the amounts of some ingredients and the baking time.
For a 21–22 cm pan, you will need:
- 100 g butter;
- 120 g sugar;
- a pinch of salt;
- vanilla, optional;
- 2 eggs;
- 150 g flour;
- 1 heaped tsp baking powder;
- 6–7 large plums or more small ones;
- 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon for sprinkling.
For this version, the blogger recommends taking all the ingredients out of the refrigerator in advance so they can reach room temperature.
Beat the butter with the sugar, then add the eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Transfer the batter to the pan and arrange the plum halves on top. Sprinkle the cake with sugar and cinnamon and bake at 180°C for approximately 40–45 minutes.
