Original Plum Torte

• YIELD 8 servings
• TIME 1 hour 15 minutes

Steven has made many variations on this recipe. It is delicious.

INGREDIENTS

• ¾ to 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
•  Pinch of salt (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 24 halves pitted purple plums
•  Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon, for topping

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.
3. Spoon the batter into a springform pan of 8, 9 or 10 inches. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.
4. Bake 1 hour, approximately. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream. (To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.)