Blue Cayenne

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is for Marion Burros’ iconic Plum Torte. This month marks the 40th anniversary of that recipe being published in the New York Times. The Plum Torte recipe is their most requested recipe…EVER.

Here is the link to the recipe: Marion Burros’ Plum Torte recipe.

You don’t want to miss this great recipe…again.

Want to dive deeper into our recipe archive? Just click one of the categories at the top of this page or use the category search drop down menu on the right side of this page.

And…here is a link to Blue Cayenne’s main page: Blue Cayenne. If you are in the mood to cook (or eat!), we hope you will take a moment to look at the many excellent recipes we have featured.

This is a great little tomato sauce. It’s the perfect recipe to keep in your back pocket for any number of dishes.  While it is a simple recipe, the textures and flavors  are quite interesting with the large wedges of onion and the smoky flavor of the  whole charred cherry tomatoes contrasting with the soft cooked larger tomatoes. The oregano sprigs give a crunchy surprise to the dish as you serve it. 

I prepared this with slices of fried polenta, but you could serve it over soft polenta or over pasta. The cheesier the polenta the better, I think. 

This recipe is from Ottolenghi’s Shelf Love. The cookbook is excellent and available through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.

This is not Blue Cayenne’s first rodeo with tomato sauces. We previously featured Julie Child’s Provencal Marinara Sauce, another wonderful sauce. You can find that post here.

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. 

Lovely. Such a nice word.

This cake is lovely. It’s pretty. The swirl of berries inside makes it beautifully appetizing. And, most importantly, it is delicious. 

Right now, we are in the midst of a bountiful berry season here in Southern California, so this is the perfect cake to make for berry season. And, because it is a large cake, it is the perfect cake to share. As with most cakes, I enjoyed the crumb of this cake on the second day but it does stay moist for several days on your counter.

This cake also can be frozen to prolong your enjoyment of the cake and to take away the temptation to eat the whole big cake at once. 

On second hand, what is wrong with eating the whole cake at once? (Just asking for a friend.)

This recipe is adapted from one that appears on a wonderful baking site called Sally’s Baking Addiction. You can find the recipe here.

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.