Plum Torte

As a baker, there are two things I absolutely love: 1) a recipe simple enough that I can remember it, not in small part because it makes me feel like a bonafide baker and not a hobbyist, and 2) a gorgeous end product that makes people think it took me all day to make it. Finding both of those things in a single recipe is kind of amazing.

It’s no surprise that, meeting both of these criteria, Marian Burros’s recipe for a gorgeous plum torte has been printed in the New York Times annually since 1983. It’s absolutely delicious and forgivingly versatile - any seasonal fruit will work with this beautiful batter, and you can mix up the spices or add herbs to suit your tastes and your pantry. Ms. Burros calls for an 8", 9”, or 10” pan and you don’t even have to grease it!

The most effort you have to put into this recipe is halving the plums. Look for the indent along the side of the plum, and run your knife along that until you’ve gone around the whole plum. Twist the two halves, and the plum will come apart. The pit should be in one half, flat side facing you. Wiggle a knife underneath the pit to remove it - or go crazy and use your fingers to pry it out.

I hope you can take a few minutes to make this incredibly easy classic dessert (…or breakfast?) to welcome the autumn season.

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Plum Torte

Time: 15 minutes active, 1 hour baking || Servings: 8 || Source: Marian Burros, New York Times

• Sugar - 3/4 cup

• Unsalted butter - 1/2 cup (one stick), room temperature

• All purpose flour - 1 cup

• Baking powder - 1 tsp

• Eggs - 2

• Purple plums - 24, halved and pitted

• Lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon for topping

Heat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Sift in the flour, then add baking soda, eggs, and a pinch of salt. Mix well.

Pour batter into a springform pan between 8 and 10 inches and smooth. No need to grease the pan.

Top batter with plums as densely as possible. With a 10 inch pan, I didn’t use all 24 plums (which was great, I made a second torte!). Sprinkle the top with lemon juice, sugar, and up to a teaspoon of cinnamon. If your plums are very sweet, you may want more lemon juice and less sugar; if they are tart, you may want more sugar and less lemon juice.

Bake torte for 1 hour, checking in the last ten minutes. It’s done when it’s lightly browned and the plums are jammy and sunk into the cake. Cool and remove from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. This also freezes well; reheat at 300°F for 10-15 minutes.

Omelettes

Folks, we’ve had a breakthrough. My amazing, darling, spectacular daughter slept through the night last night. After months of groggy, delirious mornings with conversation limited to grunts, it was like the sun peeked through the clouds. There’s an end in sight! In a 2020 that’s been dark in so many ways, this small but critical change was quite possibly the best thing that’s happened to my family in months. Lately, breakfast for us has been restricted to whatever is quick, straightforward, and goes well washed down with a gallon of coffee — generally the realm of yogurt, oatmeal, and bagels. But I was in such a good mood this morning that I decided to go big for breakfast: omelettes.

There was a time several months ago when I made omelettes almost daily for breakfast or lunch. I was on a mission to perfect my omelette-making technique, which isn’t that difficult but definitely takes some experience to know when the eggs are looking right. I’d greedily store up the odds and ends from dinner - onion ends, the tiny bit of scallion that didn’t get used, pepper scraps - for the omelette filling.

I remember reading somewhere (Julia Child, queen of omelettes, comes to mind as a possible source) that the best way to learn to make an omelette is to have someone show you how. I use maybe a less than perfect technique, especially if you compare it to Julia’s, but it works for me, and there’s never much left on the plate after a meal. That seems like success to me.

I generally use two eggs per omelette, which is typically enough with fillings and some toast. To do this right, you need a decent non-stick pan. Mine is 10 inches, so my omelettes come out a little thinner and more delicate than they would in a more typical 8 or 9 inch pan, but I like them that way. The only other tool you need is a rubber spatula so that you don’t harm your pan and so you can easily slide under the omelette to lift it. And butter.

Once you get the hang of it, omelettes are a pretty quick breakfast, lunch, or dinner. But they feel kind of special compared to cereal, and your fellow diners will definitely be impressed by your kitchen skills.

Despite my full night of sleep (bliss), I went lazy - a.k.a. no-cook - on the filling. Goat cheese and chives is classic, delicious, and easy - but use whatever you have hanging around. Ready?

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Omelettes

Servings: 1 || Time: 10 mins || Inspiration: A full night of sleep

• Butter - 1 tbsp

• Eggs - 2, whisked until just combined

• Salt & pepper

• Filling of your choice - in this case, 1 tbsp goat cheese and chives

Prepare your filling - in this case, get out your goat cheese and chives. Take a sip of coffee or beverage of choice (no judgement).

Heat butter in 8, 9, or 10 inch non-stick pan over medium heat until it foams.

Get your spatula ready, and pour eggs into the pan. Turn heat to low. Immediately stir eggs in a steady figure-8 pattern until they begin to set, about two minutes. You may need to push the sides down to avoid crispy thin egg edges. Once egg begins to set, stop stirring the eggs - if you keep going, you’ll have delicious scrambled eggs, but not an omelette.

Continue cooking eggs over low until the top is somewhat moist but no longer wet - the eggs shouldn’t run when you tilt the pan. (If they do, lift the edge of the omelette and tilt the pan to allow the wet egg on top to slide under the cooked egg.) Turn off the heat.

Slide a spatula under the omelette to ensure it’s loose from the pan. Season with salt and pepper.

About a third of the way into the egg disc, perpendicular to the pan handle, create a line of filling. Lay down the goat cheese, and then snip chives over the top. With a nonstick spatula, tip the edge of the eggs closest to the handle over the filling. Roll one more time, until you have a little omelette roll with a lip.

Tilt pan over a plate and, using your spatula, roll omelette a final time off the pan and onto the plate. Top lightly with butter (for shine, if you want to get fancy) and season with salt and pepper.