August recipe: Plum and almond tart

Late summer is the season for plums. I’ve previously posted recipes for plum cake and baked plums with blackberries. Here’s another plum recipe, this time for a plum and almond tart.








Plum and almond tart

For the pastry:
8 oz (approx 250 g) plain flour
3 oz (approx 100 g) icing sugar
4 oz (approx 125 g) butter
1 egg
Or you can use ready-made pastry if you prefer

For the filling:
2 oz (approx 50 g) butter
2 oz (approx 50 g) caster sugar
1 egg
2 oz (approx 50 g) ground almonds
1 teaspoon (1 x 5 ml spoon) plain flour
1 Tablespoon (1 x 15 ml spoon) dark rum (optional)
About 6 plums (more if they are very small, fewer if they are very large)

To make the pastry:

Sieve the icing sugar.

Cream the butter and icing sugar until pale and fluffy.

Beat in the egg.

Beat in the flour to form a dough.

This quantity of pastry is enough for three 7-inch tart cases, so divide the dough into three and freeze what you don’t need immediately. (It’s the same pastry that I use for strawberry cheesecake and Seville orange tart, if you want suggestions for what to do with the rest).

Wrap one portion in cling film or foil and refrigerate for about an hour. (If you are in a hurry, you can roll the pastry out straight away, but it will be quite soft if it’s at room temperature so handle it gently).

Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface, and line a greased tart tin about 7 inches (approximately 18 cm) in diameter. Don’t try to roll it out too thin. If the pastry breaks or tears when you lift it into the tin, don’t worry too much. Press the broken edges back together like Plasticene and you’ll probably get away with it.

To make the filling:

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in the egg.

Stir in the ground almonds and flour. Stir in the rum (if using)

Put the almond mixture into the tart case and level the surface.

Halve the plums and remove the stones.

Arrange the halved plums in a pattern of your choice on top of the tart, cut side up.

Bake at about 180 C for about 30 minutes until the filling is set and golden.

Serve hot or cold, with whipped cream if liked.

I generally expect to get about 6 slices out of this recipe, but it depends how large a slice you like.

The cooked tart will keep for 2-3 days at room temperature, if it gets the chance.