Italian Prune Plum Torte: Is it <, =, or > TastyKake Jelly Krimpet?

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Italian Prune Plum Torte: Is it <, =, or > a TastyKake Jelly Krimpet?

A good friend just asked if I would share the fruit snacking cake recipe we made at The Oxford Canteen. She had some peaches that needed to be used “yesterday” and was hoping they would work in the super ripe shape they were in.

It is quite literally a Perfect Recipe that has been called “Cory Cake” by my late 20-ish nieces who grew up eating it and assumed only I knew how to make it.

(Cory was my nickname growing up, and most of my family still calls me that now and again.)

As they grew up and realized what a newspaper was, I consciously avoided telling them the recipe I used was based on the plum torte recipe found in The NY Times food section. I have made tweaks to it over the years and adjusted this and that depending on what fruit is used, but the OG version with seasonal Italian Prune plums, also known as Fellenberg plums, is a classic, proven by the number of times the recipe has been shared and reviewed.

We substituted a variety of fruits - Fresh and sometimes dried - everything from cherries, blueberries, apricots, strawberries, nectarines, and even figs. Sometimes, combining fruits was more a lesson in frugality than in purposefulness, but pear and dried cherry was a good coincidence.

TastyKake Jelly Krimpets are a regional snack. I first had one in Philadelphia, PA, and I grab one every chance I get when I am back in the area. They make a few other dessert treats that I keep an eye out for, including a Chocolate Peanut Butter Kandy Kake and Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars.

An unpopular rumor, based on reviews posted on the tastykake.com website, suggests that the company has discontinued the Jelly Krimpet, or at least supplies are pretty limited. All the more reason to learn and replicate the recipe for the NYT’s Plum Torte recipe, using the Italian Prune Plum, known for their dark purple skin, and sweet, firm, yellow-green flesh, if you can find it in the mid-summer, incorporating some of the alternative techniques we have developed over the years.

I'm just wondering if the plum torte is better than, equal to, or not as good as the processed sweet raspberry jelly-filled vanilla sponge cake? Side by side, the torte is more appealing on several levels, including eye appeal and a fresh-out-of-the-oven aroma; however, a blind tasting may yield different conclusions. I promise you the cooked-down plums in the baked cake will be just as gooey sweet as the jelly in the processed cake.

It is up to you to decide.