Plum Torte

I had planned to make this cake for an event tomorrow that was canceled at the last minute. But I had scoured the green market this morning searching for these small sweet plums that are quickly going out of season in Belgrade and, really, I couldn't let them go to waste, could I? It turned out so, so good that I am secretly glad I didn't have to share...

The recipe came from two sites: King Arthur Flour's blog and from the Splendid Table on public radio. The KAF recipe is made with 2 cups of mixed berries instead of harder to find Italian plums (I'm still not sure exactly what kind of plums those are...) and has some other minor changes. See which you like best. This is the version I used:

Plum Torte

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
  
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 24 halves pitted Italian (prune or purple) plums
• 1-2 Tablespoons sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or more, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream the butter and the 3/4 cup of sugar. Add the flour, baking powder, eggs, and salt and beat to mix well. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 9- or 10-inch springform pan. Cover the top with the plums, skin sides down. Mix the cinnamon with the remaining 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar and sprinkle over the top.

3. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool.

4. To serve, reheat at 300 degrees until warm, if desired. Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream.