Plum cake in a significant tradition of cake making: "...throughout the districts of the Loire, the Dordogne, the Lot and the Périgord, there [was] hardly a celebration, a wedding feast or celebration at which the dessert [did] not include some sort of plum or mirabelle tart, made with fresh or dried plums or jam according to the season." The Mirabelle plum is a specific cultivar used to make "Tarte aux mirabelles" (plum tart). A "Galette aux fruits" is a type of galette made with yeast dough and covered with previously cooked fruit in season, such as plums (or quinces, apples, apricots). The
The Plum glass of beer), which gives the painting its title. She may be waiting for a waiter to bring a spoon to eat her plum. The plum may be a reference to the woman's sexuality, as the fruit was later used in James Joyce's "Ulysses". She leans forward, with her cheek resting on her right hand, and her right elbow on the marble tabletop, looking into the distance with a blank pensive look. Her left hand rests on the table holding an unlit cigarette. She wears a pink dress with embroidered cuffs, a white jabot, and a black hat trimmed with