“Apples, Peaches, Pears and Plums, tell me when your birthday comes!” Does anyone else remember jumping rope to that rhyme? It often pops into my head in late summer when overflowing farmers’ markets send me scurrying into the kitchen, eager to squirrel away some seasonal fruit for another day.
There are so many scrumptious ways to use all of apples, peaches, pears and plums! Today we are going to enjoy a roasted plum tart, inspired by a recipe I found on Bon Appetit.
Plums can be a bit tart (no pun intended) which is one of the reasons I love them. Roasting brings out all of the rich nuances of flavour, and when combined with a creamy mascarpone filling, it’s heaven on a fork.
Print
Roasted Plum Tart
Roasted plums have a gorgeous jewel-toned lusciousness and fabulous depth of flavour, and rest on a mascarpone base atop a crisp butter tart crust. Delectable.
Ingredients
- 227 g or 8 oz all-purpose flour
- 80 g or 6 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 180 g or 6 oz unsalted butter, melted
-
4-5 pounds firm but ripe black or red plums (20–25 plums), halved, pitted, skin left on
-
300g or 1 1/2 c granulated sugar plus 25 g or 2 tbsp sugar (divided)
-
30 g or 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
-
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
-
227 g or 8 oz mascarpone cheese
-
80 g or 1/3 cup crème fraîche
- 42 g or 2 tbsp honey
Instructions
Make the tart crust:
- Position an oven rack in the lowest part of the oven. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF or 325ºF Convection.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together. Add the melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon until dough forms (about 15 seconds). Using your hands, press two-thirds of the dough into the bottom of a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the remaining dough into the fluted sides of the pan. Press and smooth the dough with your hands to an even thickness.
- Place the pan on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and bake on the lowest oven rack, until the crust is deep golden brown and firm to the touch (30 to 35 minutes), rotating the pan halfway through baking. Set aside until ready to fill.
Make the filling:
- In a large bowl, mix the halved plums, sugar, and lemon juice. Add the seeds from half of the vanilla bean*; toss to coat.
- Arrange the plums, cut side down, in two large baking dishes and roast until tender (40-60 minutes). Let cool slightly. Using a slotted spatula, transfer the plums to a rimmed baking sheet and cover loosely with cling film; chill.
- Pour the juices from the baking dishes into a small saucepan; bring to a boil and simmer until thickened and reduced to a scant 1/2 cup (10-15 minutes), Watch this carefully. It “catches” easily.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the remaining 25 g of sugar with the mascarpone, crème fraîche, and honey. Scrape in the seeds from the other half of the vanilla bean*. Beat on high speed until the mixture holds firm peaks. Do not overbeat or the mascarpone may separate.**
- Spread the mascarpone mixture evenly over the bottom of the tart crust. Arrange a single layer of the less attractive chilled plum halves over the mascarpone mixture. Arrange the remaining plum halves on top, starting on the outside and overlapping tightly to form a spiral, doming slightly in the middle. Using a pastry brush, spread some of the glaze over the plums; if it has firmed up too much, gently reheat it.
- Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
Notes
* Make your own vanilla extract: Fill a small glass bottle with vodka and add vanilla bean pods from which the seeds have been scraped. You’ll need half a dozen pods to about 4 oz of vodka, and it takes a few weeks for the vanilla to infuse the vodka. You can top up the bottle with vodka and just keep adding the pods as you use the extract.
**The plums can be roasted, the glaze made, and mascarpone cream can be prepared one day ahead of time. Cover them all separately and keep chilled.
Once the tart was assembled and chillin’ in the fridge, I began to think about how best to showcase its rich, burgundy tones.
April Cornell teatowels sit atop Pioneer Woman’s Farmhouse Lace salad plates in claret and Queen’s Rooster Red dinner plates.
The salt and pepper shakers are part of Sakura’s Vintage Labels pattern.
Trestle glasses by Fitz and Floyd added a bit of textural interest while remaining clearly neutral.
Can I tempt you to a slice of tart? Would you like whipped cream or ice cream with that?
I was cruising around the King Arthur Baking site yesterday and saved a bunch of recipes to my Paprika App. It’s rainy and a bit cooler here today, perfect for a baking frenzy. So far I’ve made Spiced Peach muffins for breakfast, and have Cinnamon Apple Twist bread in the oven, while No-Knead Harvest Bread is slowly rising. We are planning to head back to Canada in early September, and with the border situation being what it is, I have no idea when we will be able to get down to the Cape again, so I’m anxious to use up my baking supplies before we go. I can keep some flour in the freezer, but you never know about power outages here, and I’d rather be safe than sorry. The neighbours will be happy to receive any excess baking bounty!
Enjoy the rest of the weekend, all.
I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.
Hands down my favorite summer desert. Medium warm, drizzled with a thick cold vanilla sauce. Ice cream works, but it’s not quite as decadent as the vanilla sauce. This is the one desert I’m very reluctant to share. The granddaughters get the left overs. Enjoy the last days of summer. Since mine was rained out I’m now looking forward to snow.
Plums are delicious, no? I love the vanilla sauce, idea, Kem! I’ll have to try that next time. Mmmmm.
Perfect day for baking. I can almost taste that plum tart with clotted cream on top. Your kitchen must smell so inviting with all your masterpieces in the oven. It’s amazing that you never gain an ounce with all those yummy goodies. I picked 6 large eggplants and spent a good part of the day making eggplant parm. Now 3 meals into the freezer. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. C U soon.
I love having meals like that in the freezer! I’d you’re going to make one, might as well make a bunch. And Eggplant parm is delicious. Yummy.
The kitchen does smell wonderful. I took some muffins over to our neighbours across the street for their breakfast, and the warm cinnamon smell really hit me when I came back into the house. The apple cinnamon twist bread is out now. The raisiny-cranberry one will go in after supper. It’s an eight hour first plus two hour second riser. I think one is supposed to start it the night before, and bake it in the morning, but who feels like starting that lark right after dinner?
Helen, as Mr. Rogers used to say, “Will you be my neighbor”??!! That tart looks absolutely decadent. Thanks for sharing.
Oh – so wish you were, Carolyn!
Dear Helen,
Creme Anglaise, please! Never too much vanilla…Love that the watercolour-blue on the Cornell “serviette” is echoed by the chargers. And aren’t those trestle glasses versatile? I especially like them in blue. Sadly, I have had to establish new sources now that US sources are not practical. There’s a dearth of affordable table stuff, but Wayfair has started up in Germany, so there’s hope. I read some disturbing accounts of driving in Canada with US plates…I bet they extend the ban through end of year.
I must add creme Anglaise to my repertoire. It’s easy to make, I don’t know why it doesn’t occur to me more often.
Yes, those Trestle glasses proved very versatile. Perfect for outdoor dining because they’re hardy without being too clunky.
Wayfair is certainly gaining momentum, isn’t it? Their tableware choices are growing in leaps and bounds, and I’ve turned to them fairly frequently for “props”.
Yes, Canadians have been none too welcoming to our south of the border friends. And none too welcoming to Canadians from other provinces, either. It’s insane! I’m with you on the prediction of the ongoing ban to the end of 2020 at least. Weirdly, we can fly into the US, but not drive. Not much help when we are travelling with three golden retrievers and three cats, though. Oh well – I’ll sort it out when the time comes.
I hope you’re well and increasingly settled in your new abode.