We're plum-crazy for this Italian Plum Torte with Tantalizing Plum Glaze! This dessert is simple yet elegant, sweet yet a bit sour, mundane yet magical. The magic occurs when the recipe combines the best of a pineapple upside-down cake with the classic French fruit tart, tarte Tatin. A simple butter cake transforms into an elegant fruit torte glazed with a tasty plum sauce.
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How it all began
It started with wanting to create a special dessert for our daughter Shelley's birthday. For past birthdays we made many types of cake including Italian Cream Cake and Tiramisu Cake with Zabaglione Topping. This year her birthday dessert was going to be different. It was going to be special. It was going to be magical!
We ended up creating Italian Plum Torte with Tantalizing Plum Glaze.
The magic begins
And magical it was. The caramely plums on the bottom embedded in the buttery cake and then the fruit imparted a sweet-sour complexity to the buttery cake. The end of the sorcery occurred as the torte rested overnight and the juices from the plums seeped out and became one with the torte, making it unbelievably moist and decadent.
Sometimes a mistake in the preparation of a recipe, like English Muffins, yields a better result than the actual dish. This also happened when one of the Tatin sisters, Stéphanie, created a one crust upside-down apple tart.
History of Tarte Tatin
Two French sisters, Caroline and Stephanie Tatin, lived in Lamotte-Beuvron, a rural town in the Loire Valley of France. Caroline ran the Hotel Tatin while Stephanie was in charge of the kitchen. Now, I picture Stephanie like Aunt Bee in the Andy Griffith show. She's a great cook, a sweet person, but not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Stephanie's specialty was her apple tart, served perfectly crusty and caramelized, a dessert that melted in the mouth.
One day during hunting season, there was a mad dash to get everything ready for the guests. Stephanie was in the kitchen trying to multi-task, which was not her forte. She was busy cooking for a large group, so busy she forgot about the apples sautéing in the butter and sugar.
"Do I smell something burning?" asked Caroline from the dining room.
Stephanie ran to the stove. "Merde!" She never cursed, but this called for a strong expletive! How could she salvage her apple tart? She glanced around to make sure no-one was looking. Oh dear, she thought. Then she saw the round pastry bottom waiting on the table and immediately an idea popped in her mind. She plopped the dough round on top of the dark apples and stuck the dessert in the oven to finish baking.
Inspiration for Italian Plum Torte
Once the tart baked, Stephanie took the upside down tart out, and before it even had a chance to cool, upended it onto a platter and rushed it to the dining room. She hurried back into the kitchen and held her breath. To her surprise, the hotel guests were delighted with this new dessert.
Legend goes that news of this dessert traveled all the way to Paris, France. Maxim's owner, Louis Vaudable, decided he wanted the recipe, so he went to spy on the Tatin kitchen in order to ferret out the secret. He got himself hired as a gardener even though he didn't know anything about gardening. Louis failed at gardening, the hotel fired him, but he succeeded as a spy.
Louis brought the recipe back to Maxim's and put it on his own menu under "tarte des Demoiselles Tatin."
Italian Plum Torte and upside down dessert
The tarte Tatin got me to thinking. Why stick plums into the batter of a cake? Why not make an Italian Plum Torte and make it like Stephanie did only with sliced plums and a buttery batter instead of a crust? Then I asked myself, why not use almonds in the recipe? Italians love their almonds and they use them in many of their rustic desserts!
I'd found my recipe. 🙂
I started to make the Italian plum torte in a springform pan. A big mistake. Oh, not making it in a springform pan but not wrapping the outside with foil. The butter started to leak out onto my baking stone and I had to hurry and go to plan B. I transferred the butter into a square pan and went on from there. If you use a springform pan, don't forget to wrap it in foil 🙂
After the dessert cooled for 30 minutes, Honey and I upended the dessert onto the platter. It looked gorgeous but I wanted to bring out more of the beautiful purple color of the plums. An idea immediately came to mind -- a plum glaze.
That was the right decision.
Serve the torte warm with whipped cream or crème fraíche.
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Tutti a tavola è pronto!
Un caro saluto e alla prossima.
📖 Recipe
Italian Plum Torte with Tantalizing Plum Glaze A Purely Magical Dessert
Ingredients
- For the Plums Place:
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon brandy
- 8 plums about 2 lb., halved, pitted, and cut into slices (If you have too many save the extra for the glaze)
- For the cake whisk:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Cream:
- 6 Tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup shaved almonds lightly toasted
- Whipped cream or crème fraîche
- Glaze:
- 3 ½ cups peeled pitted, and sliced large red or purple plums
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 F.
- Spray pan with vegetable spray.
- For the plums, place 6 Tablespoon butter in an 8-inch-square pan, or 9-inch-round, 2-inch deep cake pan, or an 8-inch springform pan. If using springform pan be sure to wrap the outside with foil. Place the pan in the oven to melt the butter, 4-5 minutes. Remove pan from oven; stir 1 cup brown sugar and brandy into the melted butter in pan.
- Overlap plum slices in rows if using a square pan or in a circle around the edge if using a round pan. Repeat in smaller circle in center to cover the bottom of pan.
- For the cake, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Cream softened butter in a large bowl with electric mixer until butter is light and fluffy, 5 minutes.
- Add 1 cup granulated sugar; cream until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes more. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined.
- Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with milk, using a whisk to avoid overmixing. Whisk ingredients only until well blended, cleaning sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the toasted almonds until combined. Spread batter evenly over plums in pan.
- Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on a rack, 30 minutes.
- Run a knife around the edge of the pan; invert the cake onto a serving plate. Let cake stand 1-2 minutes, then lift off the pan. Glaze with the plum sauce.
- While the cake is baking make the glaze by placing the plums and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture starts to boil. Add the lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring, for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until the fruit is glazed and a bit softened but not dissolved.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl and add the vanilla and cloves. Cover and let the sauce come to room temperature.
- Gently remove the plums from the glaze and place in a container to eat later on yogurt, ice cream, or just plain.
- Glaze the entire surface of the cake.
- Serve the cake warm with whipped cream or crème fraîche.
Notes
Nutrition
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Trish Bozeman
This dessert really does look magical! We love plums and that color is just stunning. Perfectly sweet and a bit tart too. YUM!
Debra
What a creative and yummy use of plums. One of my favorite of the stone fruits that are in season right now.Thanks for a great idea for a unique dessert to serve at a luncheon next week.
Lois Christensen
This looks so good! My mother makes a German plum cake, so I know I'll enjoy this recipe!
Jenni LeBaron
This plum torte with plum glaze sounds wonderful! I love the little dash of brandy that you've added to bring the flavors of the fruit out and make this taste rich. Can't wait to try this recipe!
Tracy
Happy birthday to Shelley! Wow what a great, seasonal dessert for it! We used to live at a house with an Italian plum tree and oh my gosh they are hands down my favorite!! I miss that tree so much. Maybe I’ll have to swing by for a visit so I can snag a few for this recipe! ????
Sean@Diversivore
Spectacular dessert! I'm glad you trusted your instincts so thoroughly here - everything is so lovely all together. I love plums but I don't bake with them often enough, so I'm glad to have a dessert to try out. Excellent idea about the almonds too. Almonds work with their stone-fruit cousins so well and in so many ways! And I have to say I rather enjoyed the story of the Tatin sisters. I'd never heard it before!
Pam Greer
I've made the apple version of this, but I like your plum version better!! So much flavor and so gorgeous!
Sandra Shaffer
Thank you for sharing your trials and triumphs with this Italian plum torte! I noticed my farmer's market has some beautiful stone fruit, but I didn't know what I would make. Heading back for some plums!
Denise
That is a magical dessert for sure! It looks simply gorgeous, and I am quite sure it tastes just as amazing as it looks.
Gloria
I love rustic desserts like this. Nothing fancy that takes so much time to make..but the BEST tasting results!! This is a winner dessert all the way around. The perfect dessert of entertaining..since you can make 2-3 to feed a hungry crowd at a party.
Jolina
I love reading about the history of recipes, both the historical and the personal 🙂 This looks delicious. And definitely impressive!
Claudia Lamascolo
this really looks spectacular. I love how its glistens in the light and plums are a favorite here I bet this is over the top delicious! I think I have some frozen to try this out! hope frozen will work!
Teresa
Marisa, you are an absolutely fantastic cook! I think I'll move in! Haha! Honestly, this sounds delicious!
Grammy Dee | Grammy's Grid
WOW! What a special dessert! Marisa, you're not only an awesome chef but a terrific story teller too! Love it! Shared onto Fb, G+, Pn, and Tw.
Marisa Franca
Thank you, Dee! I love discovering where recipes come from.
Amy
This looks so interesting! I've never seen anything like it before. I learn so much reading your posts!
Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
Thank you for sharing that serendipitous moment in history! I'm creating a grocery list now, so these ingredients are being added! Thanks for the recipe! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
Nancy W
My mouth is watering once again! I love the story behind this delicious looking dessert!
KariAnne Wood
I loved the story (especially the Aunt Bee reference)!
You rocked the dessert!
Happy day friend!
karianne
Marisa Franca
Thank you, KariAnne! I'm so glad I found you in blogdom. You were the first I subscribed to and I read every word in each post. Hugs!
Lisa Rios
My goodness, this is such a delicious looking dessert that sounds so healthy as well. The history of the tarte tatin is amazing and the plum torte could be a great hit with kids at home!
Marisa Franca
Hi, Lisa! The torte itself is very adaptable -- you can use any fruit. Thank you for commenting.
Nicole Escat
This is very timely, I want to eat a plum. I will try this, looks delicious to me.
Rose Pingol
Oh, I haven't tried anything like that. Looks really new to me but I want to try it.
Marisa Franca
Hi, Rose! When you try it, let me know what you think.
Ryan Escat
It's been a while since I had a plum. This looks delicious!
Marisa Franca
Hello, Ryan! Eat plums and you'll discover you've been missing out on some juicy fruit!
inspiring kitchen
wow, it sounds like a great dessert. This is a must try. I would want to have it this weekend 🙂
Marisa Franca
It certainly was a great dessert 🙂 One we are going to repeat perhaps with another fruit. Have a wonderful day!
Marisa Franca
Hi, Aeryn! You will really love it! It is so moist and flavorful. If you make it let me know how you like it.
aziel morte
This is absolutely a yummy recipe. This would be perfect for weekends
Marisa Franca
Hi, Aziel! Let me know if you make it -- for us it's a keeper.
victoria
This is absolutely looks delicious, I want this for weekends,
Marisa Franca
Hi, Victoria! It is really easy to make and you can still find plums. Have a good weekend.
Liz Mays
Oh my goodness this sounds so delicious. Great job on this. It's a really impressive looking dessert!
Marisa Franca
Thank you, Liz! That's very kind of you to say. It really was easy to make.
Elizabeth O.
I really enjoyed reading the history and the backstory of this lovely dessert! It's so decadent and it's definitely one of the desserts that will make your day so much better. A slice of this and a cup of my favorite tea and my life is complete!
Marisa Franca
Well, Elizabeth, if you lived close by, I would make another one and we could enjoy some tea, conversation, and the torte 🙂
Cin
Thanks for sharing the history of the tarte tatin. I'm always fascinated to learn about how recipes came into being. The plum torte looks amazing.
Marisa Franca
Thank you, Cin! I'm fascinated by food history, also.
annie@ciaochowbambina.com
Oh my, I can imagine this torte served warm with whipped cream or crème fraíche. My mouth is watering! Your daughter is a very lucky lady...she has a very sweet mama! xo
Marisa Franca
Thank you, Annie! I hope you saved me some of your fig bruschetta -- I'll take it with goat cheese! Abbracci!
Jocelyn Cañasa Brown
Oh wow! That looks amazing. I am definitely trying this recipe over the weekend. I love plums!
Marisa Franca
Thank you, Jocelyn! Is is a delicious torte.
Susie
Looks delicious! I'm sure Shelley enjoyed her special birthday cake......along with the rest of the family. Thanks, Marisa
Marisa Franca
Hi, Susie! Yes the family loved the cake! We had it waiting for her after they returned from an out of town trip 🙂
Aish Padihari
Love posts with some history in it. I always like to do that as well - Like to back up with history. And, yes the plum torte looks delicious. All I need is a scoop of ice cream.
Marisa Franca
Thank you, Aish! I love telling stories with recipes -- I believe each dish has one. You're right ice cream would also taste great with it.
Kate @ Veggie Desserts
This looks delicious and I loved your version of the story behind the tarte tatin!
Marisa Franca
Thank you, Kate. I love looking into the history of certain dishes and thinking about how they were created 🙂
Jovina Coughlin
What a great dessert Marisa. I keep forgetting about plums. I have to get some when I go shopping this week and make your delicious torte. My husband would love this.
Marisa Franca
Thank you, Jovina. Let me know the the torte comes out.
Bintu - Recipes From A Pantry
Now this looks like one delicious tart. I could eat some now with some cream
Marisa Franca
Hi, Bintu! That's how my daughter served her birthday cake. 🙂
Platter Talk
This is a beautiful post, recipe and pictures. Very elegant and informational. Thanks.
Marisa Franca
Thank you for the very nice compliment. 🙂