A Tale of Two Tortes: Brown Sugar Fig & Lemon Plum

plum torte


a slice of plum torte


fig torte
If you were to look over some of my recent posts - gooseberry tartlets, sour cherry compote, lavender drop scones - you might begin to doubt the truth of my past claims that I'm not generally the biggest fan of dessert.  While it remains true that I don't eat much of it, I have been on something of a sweets-making bender lately. I suppose it's because baking is so therapeutic - it forces you to slow down and only think about what you're doing, not about the million-and-one other tasks clamoring to be finished (or begun).



I think these tortes are perfect both for those of you with a voracious sweet tooth and for those of us who feel a little goes a long way. They're not cloying or overly sweet; in fact, much of the sweetness is provided by the fruit. A little slice with a cup of morning coffee or tea is just the thing.  Technically, I suppose these would more properly be called "cakes" rather than "tortes," as I used flour and not ground nuts, but thanks to the presence of fruit - and because I just thought torte sounded more fun!- I decided to go with it.



For the plum torte, I based my recipe - with some tweaks and substitutions - on the so-called "Original Plum Torte" recipe which ran in the New York Times in 1992.  I went in a slightly different direction with the ingredients for my fig version, but the technique remains the same.  A word on the plums: You don't want to use really sweet  juicy ones, as they'll make the batter too wet. Instead, go with Italian plums, also known as prune plums:



Aren't they cute?