Active Time

　　20 minutes

　　Total Time

　　1 1/4 hour

　　"I have prepared the plum torte from Marian Burros’s The Best of De Gustibus many times, and I’ve also tried variations using different kinds of fruit," says Peter Wayne Gagnon of Pineville, North Carolina. "My experiments helped me arrive at my own version of this dessert."

　　Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

　　

Ingredients

Makes 6 to 8 servings

　　1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal

　　1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

　　1/8 teaspoon salt

　　1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

　　1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

　　2 large eggs

　　1 teaspoon vanilla

　　1 pint (2 cups) blackberries

　　1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

　　1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

　　Accompaniment: whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

　　

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F.

　　

Step 2

Sift cornmeal through a fine sieve, discarding any coarse grit (there may be 1 to 2 tablespoons grit). Resift cornmeal through fine sieve with baking powder and salt, discarding any coarse grit in sieve (up to 1 tablespoon more).

　　

Step 3

Beat together butter and 1 cup sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in cornmeal mixture, then beat in eggs and vanilla until well blended.

　　

Step 4

Spread batter in a buttered 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass or ceramic pie plate or gratin dish.

　　

Step 5

Toss berries with lemon juice and strew over batter. Mix remaining tablespoon sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle over berries.

　　

Step 6

Bake "torte" in middle of oven until top is crusty (berries sink to bottom during baking) and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour.

　　

Step 7

Serve warm.