Description
Succulent plum frangipane tart showcases the delicate balance of sweet French pastry and ripe stone fruit. Almond cream nestles beneath juicy plums, creating a harmonious dessert you’ll savor slice by delightful slice.
Ingredients
Scale
- 6–8 fresh plums
- 115 g (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 100 g (3.5 oz) granulated sugar
- 100 g (3.5 oz) almond meal (ground almonds)
- 2 large eggs
- 115 g (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 220 g (7.75 oz) plain flour (all-purpose), sifted
- 65 g (2.3 oz) plain flour (all-purpose)
- 40 g (1.4 oz) powdered icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar), sifted
- 1 lemon, zest
- 1 lemon, zest
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 small-medium egg
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp milk
- ½ tsp fine salt
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 15–30 mL (0.5–1 fl oz) ice-cold water
- fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- Pastry Preparation: Sift flour, icing sugar, and salt into a bowl. Add lemon zest and cold, cubed butter. Rub with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- Dough Formation: Create a well in the flour mixture, pour egg, and incorporate using a fork. Add ice-cold water sparingly to bind the dough. Shape into a smooth disk without overworking, wrap in cling film, and refrigerate for an hour.
- Pastry Shaping: Allow pastry to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. Roll out thinly and transfer to a fluted tart tin. Press into edges and corners, trimming excess. Refrigerate for another hour to prevent shrinkage.
- Blind Baking: Preheat oven to 180°C. Dock pastry base, line with parchment, and fill with pie weights. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights, brush base with egg wash, and bake for 7-10 minutes until golden. Cool completely.
- Frangipane Filling: Cream butter, sugar, and lemon zest in a mixer until pale and fluffy. Gradually add eggs, beating thoroughly. Fold in almond meal, flour, salt, vanilla, and almond extract until smooth. Spread evenly into the tart shell.
- Plum Arrangement: Halve plums, remove stones, and slice thinly. Arrange slices in a spiral pattern over the frangipane, starting from the outer edge.
- Baking and Finishing: Bake for 45 minutes until filling sets and turns golden brown. Warm honey briefly and brush over the plum surface. Optionally, garnish with fresh thyme leaves.
Notes
- Chill Pastry Properly: Refrigerate dough for at least an hour to relax gluten and prevent shrinkage, ensuring a tender, flaky crust.
- Master Blind Baking: Dock pastry base and use pie weights to prevent puffing, creating a crisp foundation for the delicate frangipane filling.
- Slice Plums Strategically: Cut plums thinly and arrange in a spiral pattern for an elegant presentation and even baking.
- Control Moisture Carefully: Use fresh, ripe plums and pat them dry to prevent excess liquid from making the tart soggy.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hr
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 80 mg