Italian cooking plums

[annepin]

At the store the other day I saw a bunch of italian cooking plums. I was instantly intrigued... does any one know what to do with these?

[fredbram]

Make plum butter, plum conserves, plum jam, plum chutney. Poach in red wine syrup and serve with mascarpone. Poach in red wine syrup and make into cold soup with buttermilk.

[Suzanne F]

And then there's the famous Plum Torte that appeared in the NY Times all through the second half of the 1980s. When it was last printed in 1989, Marian Burros suggested that readers paste it on their cupboard doors, which is exactly what I did. It is simple, delicious, and can be made with virtually any other fruit as well. It never fails to please.

You can bake it in just about any size cake pan, and you don't need to prepare the pan. However, I've found that it helps to butter the bottom of the pan, line it with parchment or wax paper, and re-butter.

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

3/4 cup to 1 cup sugar

1 cup flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

12 plums, halved and pitted

Sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cream butter and sugar, mix in flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat in eggs. Pour into 8-, 9-, or 10-inch springform pan. Arrange plum halves on top, skin side up. Sprinkle with sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon to taste. Bake for 1 hour. (The fruit will sink into the batter a little, but that's okay.)

Serve warm or at room temperature. Can be frozen, wrapped well. Thaw and reheat at 300ºF.

(This is not a word-for-word version of the recipe, for those who worry. )

Edited August 20, 2003 by Suzanne F (log)

[fredbram]

And also, my favorite way of eating plums, a plum frangipan tart, which is plum halves baked in an almond cream in a sugar dough crust. There are many variations on the recipe, but they are all based on either ground almonds, almond meal or almond paste, which, progressively, create from a rustic to a more refined tart.

[Suzanne F]

fredbram, that sounds so much better than making it the usual way, with pears!

[Emma]

Suzanne F: I made the plum torte last night - it took all of 15 minutes to prepare. Delicious, as usual. I haven't had it since I was a kid and my mom used to make it all the time, just like her mom used to. Who knew that the Times also had the recipe :)

*I used a 9x9 pan and it baked in 25 minutes.

[FoodMan]

And also, my favorite way of eating plums, a plum frangipan tart, which is plum halves baked in an almond cream in a sugar dough crust. There are many variations on the recipe, but they are all based on either ground almonds, almond meal or almond paste, which, progressively, create from a rustic to a more refined tart.

I was going to mention the same thing. Jamie oliver has an excellent recipe in his latest book (Jamie's Kitchen). Very tasty.

I also like to mix plums and peaches in this recipe.

FM