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Plum Torte with Roasted Plum Cardamom Ice Cream

The perfect late summer plum torte with hints of cinnamon, topped with a luscious, roasted plum and cardamom infused ice cream.  Plum-alicious!

Course Dessert
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8

Ingredients

Plum Torte

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) softened
  • 1 cup unbleached flour sifted
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 24 purple plums, pitted and halved
  • juice from 1/2 lemon
  • cinnamon for sprinkling on top

Roasted Plum and Cardamom Ice Cream

  • 1 1/2 cups (350 g) heavy cream
  • 10 lightly crushed green cardamom pods
  • 1 1/2 lbs ripe purple plums (about 6-7)
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/2 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. PLUM TORTE

    Preheat the oven to 350F

  2. Cream the sugar and butter with a hand mixer or stand mixer.

    Add the flour, baking powder, and salt.

    Add the eggs, one at a time and mix well.

    Spoon the batter into a greased springform pan (an 8" or 9" is best)

  3. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter, fitting as many as will comfortably fit depending on the size of pan you choose. A little squishing is fine, but don't totally over crowd.

  4. Sprinkle with approximately 1 tsp lemon juice and as much cinnamon as you like (I probably sprinkle about 1 tsp)

  5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.

    Cool on a rack.

  6. ROASTED PLUM AND CARDAMOM ICE CREAM

    In a medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream and crushed cardamom pods and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 1 hour.

  7. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F. Halve and pit plums. Place cut side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for about 15-20 minutes (depending on the ripeness of your plums), until plums are tender and can be easily pierced with a fork.
  8. Transfer hot plums to a blender or food processor. Add brown sugar and ground cardamom, and blend/process until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl, pushing liquid through with a rubber spatula.
  9. When the cream is finished steeping, strain the cardamom cream through a sieve directly into the plum purée. Add the granulated sugar and vanilla extract. Stir until uniform in color, cover the bowl, and transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

  10. Remove bowl from the refrigerator and stir thoroughly.

    Pour mixture into the bowl of an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. In my ice cream maker, this took about 25 minutes. Transfer to lidded container and freeze until firm.

Recipe Notes

TO STORE THE TORTE
Refrigerate, wrapped well in cling wrap. Reheat at 300 (150C) till just warm.
To freeze: wrap in cling wrap and then foil and place in a plastic bag. To serve, defrost and reheat at 300 (150C) till warmed through.
The ice cream can be made in advance till needed.
Adapted from Marian Burros Plum Torte