Sugar Plum Tart Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan and place it on a sheet pan. Place the plums, tapioca, creme de cassis, and 3/4 cup of the sugar in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Allow to sit for 15 minutes. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and remaining 1 cup of sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until it forms small, dry crumbs. Add 1 tablespoon of cold water and continue to beat for about 30 seconds, until the mixture forms large, moist crumbs. Set aside 3/4 cup of the crumb mixture and pour the rest into the springform pan. With floured hands, lightly pat the dough evenly in the bottom of the pan and 1 inch up the sides. Arrange the plums in concentric circles on the crust. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture evenly on top. Bake for 1 hour, until the fruit is bubbling and the crust is golden. Cool for 15 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan and serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolk. Mix, either by hand or with an electric mixer, until crumbly.
• Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan. Arrange the plums in the pan, skin side down, to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in.
• Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums. Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Press dough into a 10-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Trim dough flush with top edge of pan. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line tart shell with parchment, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are golden, about 10 minutes. Remove parchment and weights; continue baking until surface is golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
• Spread frangipane in shell. Arrange plums, cut sides up, on top in concentric circles, pressing gently. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake until golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Just before serving, dust tart with confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Combine flour, butter, sugar, salt, and zest in a food processor and pulse until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with remainder in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Add yolks and process just until incorporated and mixture begins to clump.
• Turn mixture out onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. Smear each portion once with heel of your hand in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather together 2 portions of dough and form into a ball; make another ball with other 2 portions.
• Pat out each ball of dough with floured fingertips into a tart pan, in an even 1/4-inch layer on bottom and up sides (about 1/8 inch above rim). Chill 30 minutes, or until firm.
• Make filling while shells chill:
• Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Add plums and lemon juice and toss to coat. Let stand, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes, or until juicy.
• Assemble and bake tarts:
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Arrange plum halves, skin sides down, in tart shells, overlapping in a rosette pattern (see photo, opposite). Halve any remaining plums lengthwise and randomly tuck in between plum halves in tarts. Pour all juices from bowl over plums.
• Bake tarts in middle of oven 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375°F. Cover tarts loosely with foil and bake until plums are tender and juices are bubbling and slightly thickened, 40 to 50 minutes more. Brush warm juices in tart over plums. (Juices will continue to thicken as tarts cool.) Cool tarts completely in pans on a rack.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove pie crust from refrigerator 10 minutes before using to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Unfold pie crust onto baking sheet. Spread fig jam on crust leaving a 2-inch border around the edges. Place plums on top of the jam. Fold edges over leaving the center exposed and press slightly to seal. Brush outside of the pie dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake until dough is cooked through and golden, about 45 minutes.
• Serve warm with ice cream.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lay the pastry on a floured surface and cut in half. Sprinkle one piece with the almonds and some sugar; lay the other piece on top. Press together with a rolling pin to make a 6-by-14-inch rectangle. Score a 1-inch border with a knife. Pierce the middle with a fork and make small slits with a knife. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with water and bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a rack.
• Stir 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons water and the lemon juice in a heavy pan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat just until the sugar melts. Uncover and cook, swirling the pan, until amber, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; add the plums, 3 tablespoons butter and the vanilla pod and seeds. Cook over low heat, tossing, until the plums are soft and the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and swirl to combine.
• Transfer the crust to a platter. Top with the plums and half of the sauce. Serve with ice cream and the remaining sauce on the side.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolk. Mix, either by hand or with an electric mixer, until crumbly.
• Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan. Arrange the plums in the pan, skin side down, to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in.
• Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums. Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set a 4 1/2-by-14-inch bottomless tart form on top. Set the baking sheet aside.
• On a clean work surface, roll out pate sucree to a 7 1/2-by-17-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Roll the rectangle onto pin; unroll over form; let extra dough hang over edge. Using knuckles, fit dough into form.
• Crumble almond paste evenly over dough, and sprinkle flour evenly over almond paste. Arrange sliced plums in a fish-scale pattern on top of the dough; sprinkle plums with sugar.
• Fold overhanging dough over plums; tear, creating a 1-inch free-form edge. Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator; chill dough 10 to 15 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine egg yolk and cream; beat lightly. Brush chilled pastry with egg wash.
• Bake until crust is golden brown and fruit bubbles, about 35 minutes. Transfer tart to a wire rack.
• In a small saucepan, combine jam and 2 tablespoons water. Set pan over medium heat, and cook until warm. Remove pan from heat, and pass glaze through a sieve; discard any solids. Brush warm glaze over plums in tart. Let glaze cool slightly, remove tart form, and serve.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. If using smaller, halved plums, use a paring knife to cut a 3/4-inch slit through the top of each half, from the tip of the plum to just above where the pit should be. (This will allow the liquid from the plums to evaporate during baking instead of settling into the pit cavity.)
• Place pastry shell on a sheet pan or baking sheet. Spread crumbs or crumble topping over bottom of pastry shell in an even layer. Arrange plums in tight concentric circles in pastry shell, skin-side down, beginning with rim of the pan and standing plums up slightly.
• Mix together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle 2 tablespoons over plums. Place in oven and bake 45 minutes, or until tips of plums have colored; plums should retain their shape. Remove from heat, on baking sheet, and allow to cool on a rack.
• Once plums have cooled, sprinkle remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture over the fruit. Alternatively, heat jam in a small saucepan until runny and, instead of sprinkling fruit with sugar, gently brush cooled plums with jam to glaze.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll pastry out onto a flat work surface. Line a tart tin with the pastry.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Sprinkle semolina evenly over the pastry. Place plum halves on top in a circular pattern. Sprinkle brown sugar over plums.
• Return tart to the oven and bake until plums are tender and pastry is golden, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. On a work surface, unroll crust. Roll to a 12-in. circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet., In a large bowl, toss plums with 3 tablespoons sugar and cornstarch. Arrange plums on crust to within 2 in. of edges; sprinkle with ginger. Fold crust edge over plums, pleating as you go., In a small bowl, whisk egg white and water; brush over folded crust. Sprinkle with remaining sugar., Bake until crust is golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool on pan on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in the shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until a ball forms. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1-1/2 hours. , On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry into a 9-in. circle. Transfer to a foil-lined 15x10x1-in. baking pan., In a bowl, combine the plums, 3 tablespoons sugar and flour. Place in the center of pastry. Bring edges of pastry over filling, leaving 3-1/2 in. of filling uncovered. Brush pastry with egg white, then sprinkle with remaining sugar. , Bake at 375° for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly and crust is golden brown.

Steps:

• To make the pastry, combine the flour, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Using your hands or a pastry cutter, combine half of the butter slices with the flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Cut in the remaining butter slices until the dough forms chunks the size of large peas. Stir in the water with a fork. The dough should hold together when pressed. If it doesn't, add a few more drops of ice water. Shape the dough into a ball and chill for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rough circle about 15 inches in diameter. Do not try to make a perfect circle -- its roughness is part of its charm. Place the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
• To make the filling, combine the flour with 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Spread the flour-sugar mixture over the dough, leaving a 2-inch rim uncovered. Lay the plums over the flour-sugar mixture in an even layer. Sprinkle the plums with 4 to 6 tablespoons of the sugar, depending on the sweetness of the plums.
• Fold the 2-inch edge over the plums, gathering it to fit. Brush the edge of the pastry liberally with water and sprinkle generously with 3 tablespoons sugar.
• Bake until plums are tender and pastry is well browned, with spots where the sugar has caramelized, about 45 minutes. Immediately slide the tart from the pan to a rack. Brush the top of the fruit with some of the juices to glaze it slightly. Allow the tart to cool. Serve with vanilla ice cream.