This is, without question, one of my all time favorite recipes. It is also one of the easiest recipes I've ever made. It originally was printed in the New York Times on Labor Day, in 1981. For many years it would run on that same day and always heralded the end of summer. One year, in the '90's, the recipe was accompanied by a plea from the NYT to clip and save as it would not be run again in the paper. Thank goodness for the internet. It is not too sweet and freezes beautifully.

Summer Torte by Marion Burros

1 stick butter, softened (I always use unsalted)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour; sifted
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
pinch of salt
fruit of choice; sliced into wedges (I used about 7 plums. Peaches, nectarines,strawberries all work great and in combination)
cinnamon sugar for top

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and add sugar. Beat well. Add eggs and beat. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to batter. Mix. Spoon globs to greased 9 or 10 inch springform. Use a knife to spread batter to cover entire pan. Arrange fruit on top. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (amount depends on the sweetness of the fruit).
Bake for 45 min.

SharonCb

Lori

Select-Copy-Paste.

Jim

This vacation is going to kill me if I don't stop baking.

I picked up some peaches at the co-op yesterday, I think I know what I'll be making with them!

Oooh, Joan...yours looks fabulous too!

Linda

I am adding mangos to my shopping list. Your torte looks decadent! I am glad you liked the recipe.

Jo

And, jojoco, if using berries, do you just use enough to spread a single layer over the top of the dough? Just trying to figure if 1 pint will do.

Thanks -

Your pasta salad recipe is one of my summer standbys!

This is wonderful because I have a tart pan and I dream of making tarts but I am quite dough challenged. I just cannot take the time and effort to produce a nice one in my tiny kitchen. But I could do this!! Any recipe where the directions say, "Spoon globs . . . " I'm all over it!

So a question for the Jos. How did you get the "globs" to create such an even pattern?

Ann

Sue

Annie

Yeah, I don't get it either. If the fruit is on top of the batter, how did the batter end up on top of the fruit, so neatly no less?

I asked him to leave some out for this torte, I can see it in my very near future.

Annie

Jo

Annie

I'll definitely make this often, it was super easy! But next time I'll make sure to give it the full 45 minutes in the oven!

Foodonastump....don't fret about how the dough gets from bottom to top, just make it and you'll be pleasantly surprised! LOL

Linda

I'm definitely going to save this recipe. Thanks for posting!

I wanted to use 3 mangos

The glop

After spreading it out

I couldn't fit all the mango

The mango star

I wonder if it is cool enough to cut yet :->

I love vacations when I am not counting points!

And yes, I have too much time on my hands. LOL

I can report back that 45 minutes worked great when I lowered the temp for my pan.

I have made this recipe three times since last Thursday!

Thurs night I made a strawberry/blueberry torte and I made two on Sat for a cookout ... one was peach/blueberry and the other was apple.

I do think that I need to go a little heavier on my fruit (esp the apple). I cut the apple somewhat thin to make sure that it cooked through. It was really good, but I certainly could have made the fruit thicker. It seemed to work best with more "juicy" fruit like the strawberries and peaches.

Definitely a keeper.... so easy and yummy.

One question...

My fruit seems to stay on the top... from the pictures it looks like your fruit sinks to the bottom and the "cake" rises above the fruit and makes the beautiful designs.... any suggestions?

It's very light.... it was deceiving when I first made it. We all thought it was going to be dry and biscuit-like (I must admit, I was concerned!)... but it is very moist and cake like when you cut into it... and the fruit adds just the right amount of flavor and sweetness.

I did have some whipped cream available on Saturday (for the second batch that I made for the cook-out)... some opted for the cream, some didn't (I prefer without)..

Delicious and OH-SO easy.

(thanks for the hints jojoco.... I'll try the thicker "slabs" of fruit next time).

Kim

I turned them into this:

I made several jars of this, a black forest jam:

I got the recipe from mellyofthesouth, and it didn't set up, so I used it for a sauce, and the end product looked like this:

I sprinkled it with vanilla sugar, and took it to the office. I think someone licked the plate...

Annie

My next one on Friday will be with cherries I have pitted.

Easy, delicious and trully a keeper recipe for someone that is baking challenged.

Peppi

Jo

So much for set up and styling. (grin)

It is a great recipe, and so easy. I'll definitely make that again, so thank YOU.

Annie

Thanks, jojoco, for the wonderful, super easy recipe! I'm also sharing it with friends. One in particular lives in Hana, Hawaii, and was seeking ideas for what to do with an abundance of mangoes. I shared Joann's pictorial with her and she's now excited at the prospects.

It was easy to prepare, impressive to serve, and the flavor of the berries were enhanced, not overpowered, by the cake. I served it with vanilla bean ice cream and they loved it.

Great "go-to" recipe!

Just figured out this new mini Mac system and uploaded my first photo using this system so now I feel I can do anything! I figured it out all by myself too!!!! I am THE woman - hear me ROAR! Ha!

I used a 9.5" springform pan and added about 1/2t. vanilla to the batter. My peaches were large so I only need 1 1/2 peaches to fill the pan.

I made one today also, with plums. They were big, so it took only two to fill up the tart pan. We were too hungry to to bother with pictures. Great simple, delicious recipe. I'll be making it all summer.

I am looking forward to trying this torte, but thought I would post what looks like a similar but slightly lighter recipe that has half the butter, for those who are watching their fat... It is a recipe from Gourmet for a raspberry buttermilk cake... Made it last night and it was easy and fantastic. I'd imagine you could use lots of different fruit in it...

Emily

in a springform pan

I used 1/8 tsp. salt as a pinch, I hope that was the right amount. I also just used sugar on top as I don't know if cinnamon goes with those fruits.

Has anyone tried it using the Del Monte Spiced Peaches? I have two jars of those and could drain them and dry them, but don't know how they would be in this. Would you use the cinnamon and sugar or just sugar? Can anyone advise me about this?

Thank you again for the recipe and all the great comments posted.

A hit every time!

Thanks Jo, this is now my "go to" desert recipe whenever we have company at the cottage. Easy, delicious, seasonal and oh so good with ice cream!

Might have to get some plums next week!
Teresa

Rusty

The thinner pieces of apple dried out a little more that I would have liked. I am planning on trying it again with thicker slices. The apple torte was still delicious and was the favorite of my 9 yr old nieces.... so all was not lost!..... but IMO it would have been better with much thicker slices.

I'm heading off to read the link regarding the Apple Cake and see what it has to say.....

Here it is just before going into the oven:

And here she is after coming out of the oven:

I wonder if this could be made in mini pans? How would you adjust the baking time?

Sally

David

Tracey

I have made a few in my 9" springform pan, which turned out great... then I wanted to cook two at the same time and used 9" glass pie plates... which turned out "OK". I've used the springform pan again, with good results...

... but this last time I used a 9" old aluminum cake pan and it was cooked to perfection.

I have no idea what the differences were, but the glass pie plates cooked faster and it was much darker and not as moist.

A question... have you attempted to "dump" this out of the dish so you can serve it on a pretty cake plate? I'm thinking that I need to place parchment or wax paper on the bottom next time...

Also... I would love to make several of these for some of my husbands business clients.... how do you think it would work in the disposable aluminum pie pans?? Any other suggestions on what to cook them in to give away??

Thanks to jojoco for sharing this absolutely EASY and WONDERFUL recipe. I will be making this for years and years to come. So versatile and simple...yet so tasty.

I'm going to try this tomorrow with peaches. I haven't seen such great reviews since the carmel cheese puffs. Thanks to everyone for sharing.

For the apricot one, I did spread a bit of warmed apricot jam over the raw dough then the fruit and baked. Heaven.

David, yours looks very rustic and tasty, though. I think I will do a peach one today.

starlight, I agree. I made it in my tart pan when I made with cherries. the top was very brown, and I was able to slide it off the flat bottom to a cake plate. Next time with plums, I baked it longer, but the middle turned out a little gooey - I think I put too much fruit right in the middle? And I couldn't slide it off the bottom. I think parchment is a great idea.

Stacy

Sally

It's such a quick and easy recipe with great results. I plan on making it more often.

Cherries coming up next...

I did mine in a springform pan, but I have old cake pans with the "release bar" that I bet would work.

Sally, I don't know about the disposable aluminum pans, I think you're right in that you should try it first. I'm betting that it will be all right, though, because the aluminum pans are flexible enough to pull the cake away from the pan.

Annie

I could be totally wrong on the math here, math is not my strong suite.

I'm going to make another one with pineapple today. (canned)

Anyway this is the Pineapple Torte before going in

And this is it after baking - look how the dough came thru the holes in the pineapple! How funny!!!

Haven't cut it yet - waiting for dinner time. So we won't know if it's good or not til then!

I have been leaving the cinnamon off of my tortes (except for the apple one). For some reason, strawberries and cinnamon just don't sound like they would be good together!

Also.... after I greased (sprayed w/nonstick spray) my pan, I put sugar in the bottom of the pan and it was great! Gives it a little sweet something on the bottom.

I am making a raspberry one for tomorrow for my friends 25th anniversary and having read Linda C's comments I may just add some grated chocolate to the batter and more over the top when it's cool enough not to melt it.

Sally

Cinnamon is probably my all time favorite spice, so IMHO, it 'goes with' everything. Now I'm looking forward to trying it with Cardamom. Also was thinking about adding some nuts, then read where some of you did.

As Linda C says, the possibilities are endless. Limited only by the imagination and taste buds.

Thank you from me, too jojoco, for giving us this recipe.

Rusty

It sounds yummy, I love rhubarb, now that's on my "to try" list.....

Annie

Marian Burros' recipe is one I've had, but never tried because it just sounded too simple to be good —know what I mean?
But your spectacular pictures and results have changed my mind.

Btw, Marian's recipe was originally made using 12 Italian prune plums, halved.

And now that Italian prune plums have made their debut in MI., I'm going to join you all in a baking jamboree. Thanks Jo.

Sol

So I started the recipe, had the peaches already cut, so I wouldn't have to let everything sit out (thanks Linda) and when I got to the baking soda amount...I realized it says baking "powder". DUH! So I'm hoping that was my only mistake. Here are pics of what just went in the oven. My dough doesn't look quite as stiff as Joan's but my eggs were large, maybe the difference.


I'll post pics if this is a success.

So, the ones who used Pineapple didn't like it?

Has anyone actually done a strawberry/rhubarb yet?

So, d'ya think it would be good as a savory dish?
Any other changes you'd suggest?

Deanna

So, yes, I tried it too. It's good! And if you don't have a kitchen, it cooks up just fine in a pie dish and toaster oven. One should avoid reading about baking when one's kitchen is being remodeled, but this looked doable.

I'll have to try it I guess! Hoping it cools down here so I can cook again. I am getting awfully tired of sandwiches and "cold food" dinners.

A co-worker will be sharing figs soon. I'm thinking that would be really good too, maybe drizzled with a little honey before baking. Mmmm.

Deanna

I meant I tried it as written (mostly) and THEN I thought it would be good savory. So I was just thinking on the same lines as you but didn't actually get it done! So you get to try it first and let me know. (But a toaster oven won't heat up the house too much.)

Now, if I actually pay attention to my message preview maybe I can actually make sense, somewhat...

You are the queen! Thanks so much from all of us. :)

Jo

- in sprayed, non-stick muffin cups - couldn't possibly stick, says she....welll......they stuck! But they were good! sorry out of focus. My bad.

I'm in with peaches and plums but it only took like 2 pieces of fruit - lol. Mine is a big more caramelized? I guess too much brown sugar and I didn't get the cool effect...but still pretty and smells delightful. Will be enjoying later on the back deck with a glass of recession red (crossing my fingers by myself - lol).

Thanks for posting, Jo!

I've copied and pasted this one.

Joe

Just took one out the oven made with Crisco and lemonzest f or flavoring, fruit is blueberries and nectarines. We're invited out for dinner and our hosts keep kosher so it needed to be dairy free.

Will let you know how it tastes later.

I also have been thinking about how to make it savory, since I've been trying to figure out what to do with all my tomatoes. In baking, sugar is considered a liquid, so should a liquid something or other be subbed for the sugar if making it a savory torte?

Sally

The pineapple was good but there wasn't enough of it. I would use chunks of it and use more next time. The boys loved the one I made w/strawberries & blueberries better than the pineapple. But like I said , only because there wasn't enough pineapple.

I want to try peaches next time!

Jessy, thank you for your failed experiment to show us what NOT to do! LOL! But....I just remembered that I have some individual porcelain quiche/brulee pans up in the back of a cabinet. I want to try plums next.

Bonnie

P.S. Will probably try this gluten-free too at some point (living on the edge!)

Last year, I had to make a french gateau (gah! time consuming) for my daughter's french class -- had to buy a springform pan. Been collecting dust since then.

On a personal note, I should have made sure that my springform was really sealed correctly or put a cookie sheet underneath, but the oven mess was worth it.

Bumblebeez -- interesting comment about complexity. My son and I were saying that this torte really lets the fruit taste shine through and tasted "clean." I used lemon zest/small amt. cinnamon/sugar.

Great -- Thanks!

Cathy in SWPA

Annie

Annie

Bonnie

So far, I have made it in a 9" springform pan, deep dish glass pie pan, and a 9" aluminum cake pan. The aluminum cake pan has "cooked" it the best so far.

I did put parchment paper on the bottom of the cake pan and it released just fine.

As a side note.... I have started sprinkling sugar in the bottom of the pan (and on the sides) in the cooking spray... and it is a wonderful "crunch" added to the crust.

I've made at least 8 of this recipe so far... the variations are endless.

Here is what I did: I substituted the sugar for parmesan cheese I ground in the food processor, and added about 3 T. of chopped chives to the softened butter. After adding the eggs, flour, salt and baking powder, I spread the batter into a greased tart pan, evening it out with an offset spatula. I covered the batter with a thin layer of some French onion sour cream I made yesterday (by carmelizing the onions until they were deeply browned, and stirring them into the sour cream). To that I added a 1/4 lb. of browned sausage (Des Moines finest, Graziano's!), and about 1 Tablespoon of parmesan, which I reserved for the top.

I hope it tastes good...

Even if it doesn't, the French Onion dip is to die for. I may just have to console myself with that!

Stick to the sweet torte.

Ah well. Were would we be without experiments? I do dearly love to dabble.

Thanks so much.
Mary, who's not a baker

I made the first one with nectarine, raspberries and blackberries, the second one I added blueberries. Everyone liked it!

Di