Cinnamon Plum Torte

A quick and wonderful cake, it takes a lot of fresh plums. If you have a glut of the fruit, this is a good recipe to use them all up! The juices of the plums create a centre to the cake that has a custard-like texture.

¾ cup (PLUS 1 Tbsp sugar to sprinkle on top)
½ cup (4oz/114gr) butter
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
Pinch salt
24 halves pitted Italian (aka prune plums)
1 tsp ground cinnamon (or more, to taste)
Vanilla ice cream, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position.
2. Cream the sugar and butter until it becomes pale, almost white. 
3. Add the flour, baking powder, eggs, and salt and beat to mix well. 
4. Dump in a 9" or 10" ungreased springform pan (you can line with parchment paper if you like); the dough will be quite thick, so spread it evenly along the bottom with a spatula or wooden spoon.
5. 24 plum halves is a lot of material to stuff into a 9" or 10" springform pan; I stand them on end and arrange them in a spiral.
6. NOTE on aesthetics: While cooking, the dough puffs up significantly. Therefore, if you want the plum spiral design to show on top, do not press the plums down into the batter. Conversely, if you want a smooth top to the cake, do press the plums down, but not quite to the bottom to allow a layer of dough to remain between the plum and the bottom of the pan. 
7. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and the remaining tablespoon of sugar to sprinkle over the plums.
8. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the center tests done with a toothpick. 
9. Goes very nicely with vanilla ice cream.