Plum and almond tart
The official (French) name of this dish is plum and frangipane tarte. Frangipane sounds very fancy but it’s actually just a word to describe an almond flavoured sweet cream which is used when preparing various desserts and cake. It is a central element to this dish, which is like a French Bakewell tart!
It's peak time for plums at the moment, so they are cheap and plentiful.
(Serves 6)
Ingredients:
250g sweet pastry (recipe below if you want to make from scratch)125g unsalted butter125g caster sugar125g ground almonds25g plain flour3 eggs20ml dark rum (optional but tastes a lot better with!)40g flaked almonds (for garnish)3/4 jar plum jam8 firm plumsIcing sugar, to dustClotted cream or vanilla ice cream, to serve
Method:
Roll out the pastry to 4mm thick and use it to line a 11” loose bottom fluted or plain tart tin.
Line the pastry with parchment paper and baking beans and blind bake at 180C/gas 4 for 25 minutes.
Next make the frangipane (almond) mix by creaming the butter and sugar with an electric hand whisk. Add the eggs one at a time then add the ground almonds, flour and rum.
Spread a thin layer of plum jam on the bottom of the pre baked tart case, then spoon the frangipane mix into a piping bag and starting at the centre, pipe a line of the mix in circles to fill the tart (if you don’t have a piping bag you can use a strong standard sandwich bag or spoon the mixture on - but be careful as it will be slippery).
Cut the plums into halves and remove the stones, then gently press the plum halves into the tart, arranging neatly in the almond mixture. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds and bake at 180C for 30 minutes until golden.
Remove the tart from the oven and cool slightly. Dust with a little icing sugar, cut out s slice and serve with a dollop of clotted cream or vanilla ice cream.
If you're making your own pastry:
Ingredients:
100g unsalted butter250g plain flour2 medium eggs100g icing sugarPinch of salt
Method:
In a food processor mix the butter and flour together. Add the icing sugar and salt and then the eggs. Mix until a dough is formed. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 1 hour before rolling out.
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