TL;DR (Quick-Answer Box)
- What it is: The legendary plum torte from Marian Burros, the NY Times’ most requested recipe. A simple, buttery cake that puffs up around jammy, sweet-tart plums. Rustic, elegant, ridiculously good.
- Why you’ll love it: Because it’s foolproof. Seriously. A handful of basic pantry ingredients, no fussy techniques + it works with almost any stone fruit.
- How to make it: Spread a quick batter in the pan, top with plum halves. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, squeeze over lemon, + bake until golden and the fruit bubbles.
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- TL;DR (Quick-Answer Box)
- Why This Recipe Works
- Notes on Ingredients
- Variations on Plum Torte
- Visual Step-by-Step Guide: Plum Torte
- Your Plum Torte Questions, Answered
- Plum Torte Pro Tips & Troubleshooting
- What to Serve with Plum Torte
- Storage
- More Must-Bake Stone Dessert Recipes
- Plum Crazy About This Recipe?
- Plum Torte Recipe
- Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I’ve been making this plum torte recipe since 1994, when I first went to baking classes. A friend gave me a photocopy of the New York Times article by Marian Burros. I made it a ridiculous number of times that first summer. And I made it with so many different fruits that The One and I came to call it the Acme Torte.
Over the years, I’ve added to and tweaked the recipe, mainly by adding more spice on top and in the batter.
One trick I’ve used when I have rather blah plums is to salt the cut sides of the plums lightly and let them sit for half an hour. It enhances the flavor and texture of the fruit.
I encourage you to play and experiment. You can find some of the most popular variations below.
Featured Review
The plum torte recipe was a huge hit at our dinner party last night! Instead of the 9” springform, I used 6 mini springforms, which I purchased years ago at Zabar’s. Everyone had their own torte to enjoy. The cake was golden and the plums gave it the wonderful juicy flavor. Easy recipe to throw together…Keep those great recipes flowing my way.
Leonard La Magna
Why This Recipe Works
This torte’s legendary status isn’t luck; its success comes down to a few smart, simple details. It starts with the remarkably thick, buttery batter. This dense foundation creates a sturdy base that won’t get soggy, ensuring a plush, tender crumb that perfectly supports the fruit. The topping is just as clever. Sprinkling cinnamon sugar over the plums draws out their natural juices, creating pockets of intensely jammy fruit and infusing the surrounding cake with flavor. A final squeeze of lemon juice then balances the sweetness and richness, making the plum flavor shine.
Notes on Ingredients
- Plums—If you can find them, get Italian prune plums. They’re smaller and sweeter than customary plums, and their flesh is denser and lower in moisture. Perfect for this torte. If all you can find are larger red plums, quarter them,
- Eggs and Butter—For them to do their jobs, make sure they’re room temperature. Straight-from-the-fridge ingredients won’t incorporate well into the batter.
- Lemon—Lemon juice adds tartness and balance to the cake. Adding a teaspoon of lemon zest to the batter adds complexity to the torte.
- Spices—The cinnamon and my addition of ginger lend a wonderful warmth and deeper flavor. Love spices? Check out notes in the recipe for more ideas.
Variations on Plum Torte
Marian Burros’s classic plum torte is beloved in part because it’s endlessly adaptable. Over the years, readers have come up with clever spins. Here are the five most popular ways to make it your own:
Change the pan
Any 8- to 10-inch oven-safe dish works, from a pie plate to a Pyrex dish. A smaller pan gives a taller, moister cake.
Switch up the fruit
When I first saved this recipe, back in the Pleistocene Age of the Internet, I called it the “Acme Tart” because I paired it with so many different fruits. Apricots, peaches, nectarines, apples, pears, berries, or even well-drained canned or frozen fruit all work beautifully in a pinch.
Play with flavorings
Vanilla, almond extract, citrus zest, cardamom, nutmeg, or even a whisper of rosemary can change the character of the cake.
Swap in flours
Sub in almond meal or cornmeal for part of the flour, go gluten-free, or try whole wheat flour for a heartier version.
Scale it up
The recipe doubles or triples easily and freezes well—make one for now and another for later.
Visual Step-by-Step Guide: Plum Torte
- Butter a 9-inch springform pan, line it with parchment, and butter the parchment.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth.
- Place the plum halves, cut-side down, on top of the batter.
- Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, and spritz half a lemon on top, and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 50 minutes.
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Your Plum Torte Questions, Answered
You’ve got questions, I’ve got answers. Here’s the deal with this legendary torte.
At its heart, a plum torte is a simple, rustic, single-layer cake. The batter is dense and buttery, almost like a pound cake, and it’s topped with fresh plums that bake down into a jammy, sweet-tart layer. The magic is in its simplicity—it’s elegant enough for a dinner party but easy enough for a Tuesday afternoon when you’re jonesing for something.
Ah, the eternal question. In the classic European sense, a “torte” often refers to a rich cake made with very little to no flour, relying instead on ground nuts or breadcrumbs. They’re typically shorter and denser than their fluffy American “cake” cousins. But language in the kitchen is a funny, fluid thing. This recipe, while called a torte, is technically a cake. But “Plum Cake” just doesn’t have the same sexy, sophisticated ring to it, does it? Let’s not overthink it.
This recipe is the stuff of legend. It was created by writer and cookbook author Marian Burros and was published in The New York Times on September 21, 1983, in her “Food Notes” column as a way of putting to use her Buy of the Week: purple plums. It became the most requested recipe in the paper’s history. It’s a testament to the power of a simple, foolproof, and utterly perfect recipe.
You can….but with a word of caution. Freezing breaks down the cell walls of the fruit, so they’ll release a lot more liquid during baking. If you’re using frozen plums, I’d suggest thawing them completely and draining off any excess juice before arranging them on the batter. The texture might be a little softer, a little more jammy, but the flavor will still be fantastic.
Plum Torte Pro Tips & Troubleshooting
☞ Salt Your Plums
Plums can vary wildly in quality and sweetness. Lightly salting the cut side of the plums and letting them sit for 30 minutes suppresses bitterness in the fruit and brings out the sweetness.
☞ The Wetter the Fruit, the Longer the Bake
If your plums are incredibly ripe and juicy, the center of the torte might seem a little custardy when it comes out of the oven. This is delicious, but be aware that super juicy fruit can increase the baking time by up to 10 minutes. Use your judgment and bake until a tester comes out clean from the cake portion.
☞ Line the Pan
Buttering the pan, lining it with a parchment circle, and buttering the parchment assures an easy release.
What to Serve with Plum Torte
This torte is fine on its own, but topping it with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream or coconut ice cream, or even a cloud of whipped cream, is even better. #gildthelily.
Storage
Room Temperature: The torte can sit out on the counter, covered, for up to 5 days.
Freezer: To freeze the plum cake, wrap individual slices in plastic, slip them into a freezer bag, and freeze up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve, unwrap the slices and let them sit until room temperature.
More Must-Bake Stone Dessert Recipes
If you’re feeling posh, try your hand at beautifully roasted plums for an elegant end to dinner. Or, if you’re jonesing for another moist and tender cake to serve a crowd, tap this easy almond cake with plums. For those nights when you want to snuggle into a big slice of cozy nostalgia, there’s a rustic Southern peach pie that’s pure comfort in a pan. And should you still have a surfeit of ripe plums and a hankering to keep baking, may I introduce this crumb cake-like plum kuchen? Happy baking, my little plums!
Plum Crazy About This Recipe?
If you made this beloved plum tart recipe, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David 🀢
Featured Review
This plum torte is insanely delicious and wonderfully easy and quick to make! I grated the zest of half of a lemon into the batter, and prefer only 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Definitely a keeper!!
Heather
Plum Torte
Equipment
- 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan
- Offset spatula
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- large pinch salt
- 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for the pan
- 3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar, more or less, depending on the tartness of the plums
- 2 large eggs
- 12 Italian purple plums, halved and pitted, or 6 red plums, pitted and sliced into thick quarters
For the topping
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, (optional)
- 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Crank up the oven to 350°F (176°C). Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan, line it with parchment paper, and butter the parchment.
- Whisk the 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and large pinch salt in a large bowl.
- Beat the 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter and 3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar (depending on the tartness of the plums) in the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, until light in color, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl and then the 2 large eggs, 1 at a time, mixing just until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Dot the top of the batter with the 12 Italian purple plum halves or red plum quarters, skin side up.
- Mix the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger in a small bowl.
- Sprinkle the fruit with the cinnamon sugar and squeeze the 1/2 lemon over the top of the batter, adjusting the amount to the tartness of the fruit.
- Bake the plum torte until the cake is golden and the plums are bubbly, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on a rack, then unmold.
Notes
- Check your plums—If your plums aren’t particularly stellar, lightly—and I mean lightly—sprinkle the cut sides of the plums with salt and let them sit for 30 minutes. It helps draw out the flavor.
- Juicy fruit—If your plums are extra ripe and juicy, you may have to bake the torte a little longer so the cake won’t be soggy.
- Batter check—The batter is supposed to be thick, so don’t freak out! Just make sure to smooth the batter into the edges of the pan, and the top is even.
- Improvise—This plum cake is ultimately customizable. I often add warm spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, vanilla, and/or mace) to the batter.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
We love this Italian plum torte.
Measuring out the ingredients, preparing the plums, and following the method took just 20 minutes. We used 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, as our beautiful plums were not quite as flavorful as we had hoped.
After baking for 45 minutes, the plums looked jammy, bubbling, and ready, but upon testing, the cake had a pretty gloppy interior, so we baked it another 7 minutes. All the while, the house was filled with the scent of a cinnamon-plum-cake baking goodness. As the cake baked, bits of batter puffed up beautifully around the plums.
This is a delicious, quick summer cake. Served warmed with a bit of cream or ice cream, or just as is, this dessert is a delight.
Everyone who tried this plum torte proclaimed, “MMMMmmm!” It was a big hit! The plums were beautifully tart, and the cake was moist and sweet. One of my testers who “doesn’t like plums” loved it and lapped it up. Definitely a keeper.
It was fast and easy to put together.
I used about 5 red plums. Normally, for a plum tart, my instinct would be to use prune plums, but I couldn’t find them at the grocery store, so I used the large, round red plums. They were delicious when cooked! I cut them into small wedges and placed them in concentric circles. It looked beautiful!
I didn’t use the lemon juice. My plums were quite tart, and I’m glad I decided to omit them because the final torte had the perfect balance of sweet and tart.
I sprinkled the cinnamon and sugar on the tart as instructed, but I think next time I will mix the cinnamon and sugar together and then sprinkle it, as it would look nicer. The brown cinnamon on top isn’t super appealing. I think it would be great with any kind of fruit you have on hand, so it’s worth keeping this recipe on hand for the summer.
This is the first plum dessert I’ve ever made. Which is kind of surprising, as I am married to someone who LOVES plums. And this dessert will without question be made again. It was shockingly easy.
Even with cutting and pitting the plums, it may have taken me only 15 minutes to assemble the dessert. It was golden brown with bubbling fruit when I took it out of the oven. And it smelled heavenly. We had it for dessert last night, and we both were so excited at how delicious this was! Its appearance is rustic. I wouldn’t say it’s a pretty dessert. But it’s beautiful in its own way.
I CRAMMED as much fruit as I could in the pan, but simply could not fit more than 6 plums in there. I sprinkled the cinnamon through a sieve, and half a teaspoon more covered the whole torte.
That said, I loved the end result and will happily make this again!
This plum torte will forever be a part of my summer dessert rotation! We ate the plum torte when it was still warm from the oven, and it was delicious on its own. However, I especially enjoyed the leftover cake refrigerated and topped with light vanilla yogurt!
It was a perfect use for 8 rock-hard plums. I was worried that they wouldn’t soften up, but after 55 minutes of baking, they were perfectly soft. (I also needed to use 2 total tablespoons of sugar on top of the plums because they were so underripe and tart.)
After I made this, I was thinking about the fun variations I can try in the future. I’m looking forward to trying the recipe with apricots next time.
This might be my new favorite plum cake! It really is that good. Perfect for after dinner, as an afternoon snack, or breakfast.
I don’t have a 9-inch springform pan, so I simply used parchment paper to line a regular 9-inch pan and then just lifted it right out. Worked perfectly!
It’s worth noting that my plums were on the small side, and I was just able to fit them in, so if you have bigger plums, you might need to get creative. Either way, it will be delicious! The plums were perfect, in my book, so I omitted the lemon juice and only used 1/2 cup sugar.
Using ingredients you typically have in your house, this plum torte recipe is simple and fast to put together. The batter is versatile, as the plums can be swapped out for another stone fruit. The hardest part is waiting for the long bake time and for the torte to cool once it’s out of the oven, but it’s definitely worth it.
The torte is delicious by itself, but pairing it with some whipped cream or ice cream takes it to the next level.
A simple and delicious stone fruit recipe. The torte came out wonderfully moist and just sweet enough.
I substituted 1 1/2 cups of blueberries for the plums and eliminated the lemon juice. The texture of my batter resembled pate choux dough, and I spread it with a spatula until it was an inch thick, and it continued to spread and fill the pan once it was in the oven. You can get 8 to 10 servings out of this, but likely you’ll hand out seconds, so don’t plan on feeding more than 4 to 6 people.
Easy wonderful 1-1-1 kinda recipe that is easy to remember and it’s just delicious.
I love your site, David. I’m a long time follower and will speak up more and add comments. Algos need to see your people! You’re here for us daily and every recipe an inspiration.
Plums be fall’n, torte and ice cream be call’n.
Thank you,
Lori
Lori, thank you so much for your comment. It means the world to me. I’m so grateful that you decided to comment more. It will definitely help!
Made this fantastic recipe for the sixth time, which included making each with a variety of different plums, nectarines and cherries. However, this time, I found Italian prune plums imported from Italy at grocery store, and the results were scrumptious. A big hit at brunch today! Keep those wonderful recipes flowing, David.
leonard, I’m gobsmacked! Six times? I think you’ve got me beat. And I love how you’ve mixed and matched the fruit. I have to say, that photo is drop-dead gorgeous. Thanks for sharing it with us.
The plum torte recipe was a huge hit at our dinner party last night. Instead of the 9” springform, I used 6 mini springforms which I purchased years ago at Zabars. Everyone had their own torte to enjoy. The cake was golden and the plums gave it the wonderful juicy flavor. Easy recipe to throw together. Wish we had taken pictures to share. Keep those great recipes flowing my way.
Leonard, this is fantabulous! I love the way you used those mini springforms—what a charming touch for a dinner party. I can just picture everyone beaming with their own golden little torte. And Zabars? Now that’s a flex. Been there countless times. Here’s to more picture-perfect desserts (camera or not!). Keep cooking and keep those updates coming!