Special Delivery

I came home the other day to a gift from Ben, Amie and Lucy thanking us for hosting them at the end of June. As if we needed thanking. I'd do anything to have them closer so we could host them more often. Anyways, on to the gift, it was... The Essential New York Times Cook Book. As noted in this recent post, I bought this cook book for Colin for Christmas last year and I've been lusting after it ever since. Thank you, thank you, thank you Lucas family!

I've since spent hours leafing through it's 932 pages. The verdict: I'll need to eat two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners and two desserts with soup, salad, bread and appetizers in between for the next six months to make all the recipes I've flagged already.

I I always say "I can't bake to save my life," but this recipe on Cakes p. 763 just seems like the perfect first recipe to give a whirl. In the spirit of giving, I'll share it now. Wish me luck this weekend!

Purple Plum Torte - first published in 1983

"This is both the most often published and the most requested recipe in the Times archives. By my count, Marian Burros ran the recipe in the paper twelve times."

"I've thought a lot about why this torte struck such a chord with people: the answer, I think, is that it's a nearly perfect recipe."

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Large pinch of salt
1 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon, or more or less depending on the tartness of the plums
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
12 purple plums, halved and pitted
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or more or less depending on the tartness of the plums
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt
2. Cream 1 cup sugar and the butter in a large bowl with a hand mixer until light in color. Add the dry ingredients and then the eggs
3. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Cover the top of the batter with the plum halves, skin side up. 
4. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar and lemon juice, adjusting to the tartness of the fruit. Sprinkle with the cinnamon.
5. Bake until the cake is golden and the plums are bubbly, 45-50 mins. Cool on rack and then unmold.

Now to reassume the position on the porch again...