Plum and Almond Tart with Homemade Pastry – A fruit plum tart with almond frangipane and crumbly sweet pastry.
Ah, isn’t it pretty?
Normally I’m not great at making desserts look pretty, but fortunately for me, the decoration on this plum tart is fool proof!
Piles of juicy ripe plums are layered on top of soft almond frangipane and encased with buttery-sweet pastry. Just pass the cream right now. Forget dessert, I want this for breakfast!!
Don’t be put off with the homemade pastry. I’m usually the first to applaude the ready-made stuff you can buy in the shops, but this one is extra easy and beautifully crumbly. With a bit of help from the fridge to chill this pastry, you don’t even need to roll it out! Here’s why:
Yep, my big pastry sausage is cut into slices that layer the bottom and sides of my flan dish.
Then that pastry is squished down using your hands until all the gaps are covered. This creates a slightly rustic feel to the tart that I LOVE!
Why do I love rustic? Because it gives me permission to be slightly messy and make the odd mistake whilst claiming it’s supposed to look like that.
This Plum and Almond Tart with Homemade Pastry is perfectly portable and delicious served cold – so it’s great for picnics.
It’s also amazing served slightly warm with a good drizzle of cream!!
How about finishing your Easter dinner with a lovely slice!
The Plum and Almond Tart with Homemade Pastry Recipe:
Plum and Almond Tart with Homemade Pastry
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 280 g plain (all-purpose) flour
- pinch of salt
- 120 g confectioners' sugar
- 240 g unsalted butter, softened
- 2 egg yolks
Frangipane:
- 120 g unsalted butter, softened
- 130 g golden caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 150 g ground almonds (almond meal - the grainy kind - not the flour)
- 2 tbsp plain/all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Plums:
- 6 large ripe plums
- 1 1/2 tbsp soft brown sugar
To finish:
- 1 tbsp Confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- First make the pastry. Mix together the flour, salt and confectioners' sugar. Add in the softened butter and egg yolks. Mix together until just combined (I like to use my hands for this). Roll into a log (it will be sticky) and wrap in clingfilm. Place in the fridge for 1 hour.
- For the frangipane, place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat it together with a wooden spoon for a couple of minutes – until it goes paler. Stir in the eggs until mixed, then stir in the ground almonds, flour, almond extract and vanilla extract. Cover and place in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
- Now it's time to assemble. Preheat the oven to 160c/320f and have a 30cm flan tin - with removable base- ready. Take the pastry out of the fridge and slice into 1/2cm slices. Arrange over the bottom and sides of the tin, then squash the pastry together so there are no gaps. Make sure you squash the pastry into the ridges on the sides of the tin. You may have a little leftover pastry.
- Trim the edges until they’re flush with the edge of the pan and place back in the fridge for 10 minutes whilst you slice the plums.
- Slice the plums in half and remove the stone, then cut each half into 6 slices - so you should get 12 slices per plum. If you can't remove the stone, just carefully cut around it.
- Take the pastry and frangipane out of the fridge. Dot the frangipane over the base of the uncooked pastry. Roughly level with a spoon so there are no gaps, then arrange the plums on top. I like to start from the outside, creating one large circle by very slightly overlapping the plums. Then a small circle inside and finally arrange a few extra slices in the middle.
- Sprinkle on the brown sugar and place in the oven to cook for 45-55 minutes – until the pastry is brown and the plums are slightly caramelised. You need at least 45 minutes in the oven to ensure the pastry is cooked, so if it starts to look too brown, place some foil on top (try not to let it touch the plums too much or it may stick).
- Take out of the oven and leave to cool slightly before serving with a dusting of confectioners' sugar. Alternatively, let it cool completely before serving.
