The branches of our plum tree are heavy with fruit this year, more than we can eat. It’s a nice problem to have because as luck would have it, one of my all time favorite cakes is Marion Burros’s Plum Torte. It is reportedly the most requested recipe from the New York Times, which seems unbelievable when you look at the ingredients. It’s all very mundane: butter, flour, sugar, eggs, plums . . . not even a dash of vanilla. What on earth could make it so special?

I still don’t know the answer to that question, even though I’ve made the cake countless times. But some kind of magic happens in the oven and this simple recipe produces a cake that is indescribably delicious. It’s not fancy or even particularly beautiful. But when you bite into it, the moist fruit makes the tender crumb melt in your mouth and suddenly you feel sorry for all those chumps who have to eat their plums out of hand.

Any variety of plum will do here. In fact, you can use any stone fruit: peaches, nectarines, even apricots. This cake is sweet enough to eat for dessert but not so sweet that you feel guilty if you eat it for breakfast. (Or is that just me?)

This Plum Torte also freezes beautifully. I always freeze at least two cakes because my kids, both of whom were born in the winter, often request it for their birthdays . . . despite the fact that it contains neither chocolate nor frosting. It’s that good.