There is something about a *Torte* that I equate with sophistication and elegance… fitting right in with my subscription for Gourmet Magazine.

This Plum Torte epitomizes that…

Tink

*When I dream, I cook and bake like an artist!*

Plum Torte

HALLOWEEN MEMORY

I grew up in New York City where costumes where hand-made and we were limited to where we could go for Trick or Treating.  We lived in Stuyvesant Town and my mother only let us trick or treat in our own building or to people we knew.  We still managed to get quite a lot of goodies but were forbidden to have anything that wasn’t wrapped!  Of course,  those rules apply allover now.

In New York, one of the first smells of fall are the street vendors.  They roast chestnuts and sell them in small bags.  It’s a smell that always signifies fall to me.

This recipe is a little early for Halloween since it uses the small Italian prunes or Hungarian plums.  It is a favorite of mine that I bake from an old clipping.

INGREDIENTS

Plum Torte

3/4 cup sugar
½ cup sweet butter
1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
2 eggs
12 purple or Italian plums, halved and pitted

Topping:
Sugar
lemon juice
cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1 - cream sugar and butter until light.
STEP 2 - Add flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.
STEP 3 - Spoon the batter into a 9 inch spring form.
STEP 4 - Cover the top with the halved plums, skin side down.
STEP 5 - Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice.  Sprinkle with 1 or more teaspoons of cinnamon.
STEP 6 - Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.  Remove and cool.
Refrigerate or freeze if desired.
Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain, with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
STEP  - To serve frozen tortes, defrost and reheat briefly at 300 degrees.

Note: Remove sides of spring pan but leave torte on bottom of pan.

If you prefer it sweeter, you can use 1 cup of sugar.

You can use this recipe, and substitute apples & cranberries.  Peel, seed, quarter and slice two or three large baking applies.  Arrange 1/2 cup of raw cranberries over the batter and top with apple slices.  Sprinkles generously with cinnamon, squeeze 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of lemon juice over the apples.  Sprinkle with sugar.

COMPANY INFORMATION - Ridgewood Needlepoint

At Ridgewood Needlepoint, we have sent off most of our finishing.  The finished items for Christmas are just starting to trickle back in.  So as things come in, I try to post them on our blog www.ridgewoodneedlepointblog.com  In addition, as people settle into their fall schedules, lots of people are stopping by.  It almost seems like the beginning of school for us with scheduled classes and trunk shows. Our annual Stars class just had its second meeting.  And we’ve already had one section of the Kelly Clark Old World Stitching Santa.

This month, we are hosting  Deborah Wilson.  She will be teaching her Tussie Mussie with its beautiful ribbon flowers on Sunday, October 19th and Monday October 20th.  She will return November 9 and 10th to teach her Jacobean Fruits and Flowers.  (Go to www.ridgewoodneedlepoint.com and go to classes for pictures and more information).Both class pieces are stunning.  In addition, the techniques are easily used in other pieces.

The Melissa Shirley trunk show starts on Saturday, October 18th so we are busy.  To enhance the stitching experience of our customers, we augment our extensive painted canvas inventory with occasional trunk shows.  The Melissa Shirley trunk show is one of our favorites.  So many beautiful canvases to choose from.

Then in November, we will have Sandra Gilmore’s Once in a Blue Moon Trunk show for the first time.

This year, our store will also be decorated with our finished paper dolls.  We have them all on display but for the fall and early winter, the October, November December and January paper doll outfits will take center stage.

Finally, we are about to introduce our new club, The Doors. This brand new series consists of four seasonal doors plus individual doors of different styles.  They can be used as ornaments but can also be framed for a year-round display.  Information should be posted on our website soon.

www.ridgewoodneedlepoint.com
www.ridgewoodneedlepointblog.com