When I started to cook almost 50 years ago, I would occasionally bake desserts or savory pastries. Fruit tarts and quiches were my specialties, and I even remember making French baguettes. But for some reason, aside from making pizza, I stopped baking in the early 90s. It wasn’t until last Christmas and Easter when I started baking again and prepared a Neapolitan struffoli and an Italian wheat pie, pizza grana, both of which brought back fond childhood memories of my aunt, who excelled at making all types of pastries and desserts.

When I happened to see a bunch of small, dark-purple Italian plums at the market last Saturday, it evoked similar nostalgic feelings as I remembered how at the end of summer, my aunt would always make a cake or torta dell’estate with them. I recalled the fruit’s rich crimson color and tart-sweet flavor. I simply had to make an attempt to recreate the dish.

A New York Times recipe by Marian Burros, which appeared for the first time in 1983, seemed to offer me the best odds of achieving this goal. Although it calls for just a few ingredients and a minimum of effort, it does assume some degree of skill on the part of the reader, such as creaming butter and sugar, preparing a springform pan, and even removing the tart from it. In my adaptation of the recipe, I’ve attempted to address these assumptions.

I must confess that the appearance of my torte fell short of the one I remembered. While my aunt’s version had the luscious plums glistening on top, mine had them shyly peeking out from the sides. The flavor of both the pastry and the fruit, however, came much closer to my aunt’s. It offered a lovely counterpoint of sweet and tart flavors; the buttery pastry was both moist and crunchy. But what’s even more important, it reignited my enthusiasm for baking.

Italian Plum Torte (adapted from a recipe by Marian Burros in The New York Times.)

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for preparing the pan
1 cup unbleached flour, sifted, plus more for preparing the pan
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt (optional)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
24 halves pitted Italian plums
Sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon, for topping

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350° F.

2. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of an 8-, 9-, or 10-inch springform pan.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Midway through, scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and slowly add to the creamed sugar and butter.

5. Slowly add the eggs and beat well.

6.  Spoon the batter into the springform pan and distribute evenly.

7. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Do not press the plums into the batter.

8. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit.

9. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, to your taste

10. Bake 1 hour, approximately.

11. Remove and transfer to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan at least 30 minutes. Run a sharp knife around sides of pan to loosen the cake. Carefully invert cake onto a platter or rimmed baking sheet, and then invert again onto a platter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

Wine Pairing: Champagne, Prosecco