When I was younger, I never cared much for plums. But everything changed when my family moved to a house with a big garden and we discovered it came with a plum tree. Even our friendly neighbor had a tree that stretched over to our property, and we spent summers picking plums straight from the branches. Sadly, London flats don’t come with gardens, so I missed having fresh fruit at my fingertips. That’s why I made it a priority to find a new home with a spacious garden, so I could have some fruit tree of my own in the future. My love for plums was reignited when I subscribed to Oddbox, a fruit and veg subscription box that delivers surplus produce to your doorstep. Inspired by my newfound plums, I decided to make an almond and plum tart.
Set oven to 200C/180C fan
9 inch/23cm tart tin with loose bottom
For the tart case:
- 150g plain white flour, 75g butter-cubed, 20g ground almonds, 1 egg.
Start by making the tart crust: Mix the flour with ground almonds until fully incorporated. Add cubed butter and use your hands to mix until you get a grainy texture.
Add the egg and knead until you get a smooth dough.
Chill the dough for at least an hour, then roll it out thinly. When it’s time to fit the dough into the tart tin, I’ve found a method that works consistently well for me. First, I place the loose bottom of the tin on the cold dough and cut around it (if the dough has become too soft, refrigerate it briefly). Next, I cut thin strips from the remaining dough and use them to assemble the edges of the tart, creating an even layer all around.
To prevent the dough from getting too soft, I recommend putting the tin in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Then, cover the dough with baking paper and fill the tin with baking beans or uncooked rice. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, remove the beans and paper, and bake for another 5 minutes. Afterward, remove from the oven and let the crust cool before using it for your tart.
Meanwhile start prepping the filling.
- 80g white caster sugar, 80g butter – softened, 80g ground almonds, 5 plums and 2 eggs+ not pictured is 1 tsp vanilla extract.
Begin by combining the sugar and butter until fully blended. Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, add one egg at a time and beat on high speed until fully incorporated.
After the sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla are fully mixed, stir in the almond. Then, proceed by halving the plums and slicing them thinly. Sprinkle a layer of icing sugar on the bottom of the cooled tart case and add the sliced plums on top. The icing sugar absorbs the juice from the plums, preventing a soggy crust.
Now pour the filling over the plums and use a palette knife to even it out. Here comes the fun part – arrange the plum slices in a circular pattern, starting from the outer edge of the tart and working your way towards the center.
Bake in the oven for about 30 min or until the filling is not jiggly anymore when shaking the tin a bit. And voila!
Hope you enjoy 🙂
Green thumbed swede 