ITALIAN prune plums are plentiful and inexpensive in stores right now.
If you have a tree in your yard you'll have bushels of fruit at your disposal. They make great snacks eaten fresh but are also terrific cooked.
Here are three recipes sure to please. Choose firm or just slightly soft plums - if they're very soft they are often rotten inside.
PLUM TORTE
From The New Elegant But Easy Cookbook by Marian Burros and Lois Levine. By popular demand this recipe has been published in the New York Times almost every year since 1981.
½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch salt
12 pitted prune plums, halved
1 teaspoon cinnamon or more, to taste
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Cream the butter and the ¾ cup of sugar. Add the flour, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and salt and beat to mix well. Spoon the batter into an ungreased nine-or 10-inch springform pan. Arrange the plums on top, skin sides down. Mix the cinnamon with the remaining two tablespoons of sugar and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Makes eight servings.
PLUM PARFAITS
18 prune plums, pitted and halved
¾ cup fresh orange juice
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1½ cups crushed amaretti (crisp Italian almond cookies, available in most large supermarkets)
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup mascarpone
½ cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp grated orange rind
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Place plums cut side up in a small baking dish. Pour orange juice over top and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 25 minutes or until soft and very juicy. Let cool in juices; cut plum halves in half. Reserve plums and juice together.
Whip cream until it holds soft peaks. Combine mascarpone, yogurt, maple syrup and orange rind and fold in whipped cream. Layer mascarpone mixture, cookies and plums with their juices into six wine glasses; top with a dollop of mascarpone mixture and a sprinkle of amaretti crumbs. Chill.
PLUM JAM
This jam is the most beautiful fuchsia colour - fantastic on toast, or try thinning it with a little orange juice or water and pouring over ice cream or yogurt. Use canning tongs to move jars in and out of boiling water.
4½ cups pitted, chopped
prune plums
½ cup water
7½ cups white sugar
½ teaspoon butter (optional)
1 (1.75 ounce) package powdered fruit pectin 8 half-pint canning jars with lids and rings
Place the plums and water into a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to mediumlow; cover and simmer for five minutes. Stir in the sugar and add butter to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly, and then mix in the pectin quickly. Return the jam to a full boil and boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim off and discard any foam.
Sterilize the jars and lids in boiling water for at least five minutes. Ladle the jam into the hot sterilized jars (a canning funnel makes this much easier), filling jars to within ¼ inch of the top.
Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any jam residue. Top with lids and screw on rings.
Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then carefully lower the jars into the pot. Leave a two-inch space between the jars; pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water level is at least one inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil; cover the pot, reduce heat slightly and let boil gently for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the stockpot to a towelcovered heatproof surface and let cool. Once cool, press the top of each lid with a finger, ensuring that the seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all - refrigerate any jars that did not seal properly). Store sealed jars in a cool, dark area.
