Friday, April 27, 2012

Frangipane Plum Tart

by Sheila Connolly

I told you that the frangipane in the freezer was calling to me.  I know, I should wait for fresh, local fruit, but that's a few months away, and I want it now!  So I cheated and bought plums from Chile.  In case you're wondering "why plums?", it's because they belong to the same genus (Prunus) as almonds, as do peaches and cherries, so they kind of belong together. And it's waaay too early for peaches in the market.

I wanted to keep this simple (I told you I was impatient).  I already had the frangipane, so I thawed that.  Then I made a simple short sugar crust and pressed it into a tart pan. I would have made the vanilla crumb crust that I used earlier, but my husband ate all the vanilla wafers while I wasn't looking.  So I pulled out Julia Child's sweet crust recipe, except I used a  Cuisinart to blend things.  Use whatever sweet crust you like.



Preparing the plums was the slowest part.  I could have just sliced them and laid them on the tart, but I'll confess the ones in the market were not particularly sweet or soft and I wasn't sure they'd cook quickly enough, so I cut them in half (removing the pit), and poached them briefly in a sugar syrup (water and sugar in a 3:1 ratio, brought to a simmer to dissolve the sugar). I simmered the plums gently for 10 minutes, then let them cool in the syrup, then drained them on a rack.  You could peel them (after poaching), but plum skin is fairly thin, so it was not a problem in the finished pie.



Now that all the components are ready (crust, frangipane, plums), spread a layer of frangipane on the crust, then lay your plums over that.

Ready for the oven

Bake the tart in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the frangipane is lightly browned.

And ready to eat!


If you want to glaze your tart, melt jelly (apricot or seedless raspberry) in a small, heavy saucepan (or a microwave) until it boils. Strain if needed (you want this to become smooth and glossy on the tart). As soon as the tart comes out of the oven, brush the glaze over the surface.  Let the tart cool. (You could also sprinkle some coarse sugar on top, for a different appearance).  Let the tart cool to room temperature and serve.


2 comments:

  1. A beauty of a tart, Sheila. Thanks for sharing, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend at Malice Domestic. Cheers! ~ Cleo

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  2. Yum, that looks delicious! I imagine it would be delicious with peaches, cherries or other berries as well.

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