This plum tart is one of several plum recipes I have. And if you are looking for other tart recipes - I have those too.
This recipe is versatile enough that you can use any type of plum. You don't absolutely HAVE to have Italian plums even though I primarily focus on Italian dessert recipes.
The key is "does it taste good"? And does it cook correctly? And the answer is - YES! I always look at the little ones. Do the kids want seconds? Do they like it?
This plum tart recipe does call for a few ingredients you may not be used to. But as always there are subsitituions and work arounds. So don't let that stop you. You can see below where I answered a few questions and talk about substitutions.
So these are the spices you may/may not be accustomed to:
Marsala and all spice are real easy to find. The muscovado I think I got at Dean and De Luca's or World Market. It's a sugar from the Phillipines. Do read the section below about these guys. You won't be stuck just using them in this recipe. So - now on to the crust.
What makes this one of those more fun tart recipes is - you don't have to make a "formed" crust. In other words it's free form. Just lay it down. Put the prepared plums on top - and fold the crust over. What could be easier?
Enjoy your plum season, and if this wasn't exactly what you were looking for, check out my plum recipes page.
Happy baking and thanks for stopping by -
* 1 3/4 - 2 lbs fresh plums
* 2 Tbsp butter
* 1 tsp ground mixed spice
* 1/2 cup light muscovado sugar (This is really what makes this stand out. If you must you can use *normal* sugar)
* 1 orange, finely grated zest
* 3 Tbsp marsala ( don't skip - keep it around to chicken marsala later!)
* 1 ready-made pie crust pastry OR make your own
* 1 egg beaten
* Preheat the oven to 400 F
* Slice plums in wedges and set aside.
* Melt butter in a large pan with the spice and muscovado sugar.
* Slide in plum wedges, add zest and marsala. Stir until the sugar has partially dissolved. Remove from the heat.
* Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and trim to a rough round shape - at least foot in diameter.
(You don't have to be too neat.)
* Lift up the pastry (draping over a rolling pin) and transfer to a large baking sheet.
* It will be too big, with a lot hanging over the edges. That's OK.
* Pile the plums and their juices over the middle of pastry
* Take overhanging pastry and place over the fruit - leave a big hole in the middle for the steam can escape.
* Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle sugar over the top of egg wash
* Bake for - until the crust is golden.
It's a "moist sugar," that is imported from the Philippines. And yes, I realize it's not an Italian product. Within any culture there is some importing - and let's allow ourselves this imported sugar to flavor this tart. This sugar is a bit coarser and stickier than most brown sugars. It has a reasonably long shelf life - so you can use it again. It's actually tasty in coffee! You can swap it out in any recipe calling for brown sugar too (slightly reducing the liquid content). SO don't feel it's a waste of money if you buy it with the intention of making this plum tart. Be bold. Try it in other stuff.
Sure! I adapted this recipe from spicy tart recipe on bbcgoodfood, and it does call for nuts. I had every intention of putting them in, but I was in a hurry making a Friday night dinner after a long work week and this plum tart was the, "Oh yeah I need dessert" idea. And y-i-i-i-kes....I totally forgot! Just sprinkle the nutesover the pastry to within 1/4 inchof the edges then add plums on top.
This original recipe called for custard and other UGH stuff I didn't want to deal with. ONE being, a ready made frozen crust. Totally gross in my opinion. Hate 'em. So in my purist food snob mode, I attempted my own crust in the middle of kid-chaos and the end of a long work week. It looked UNFLATTERING but tasted awesome. No regrets in trying. I will try again because I think frozen crusts taste like everything they sit next to in the freezer.
NOTE: To make your own tart crust use a traditional pie crust recipe - and halve it. For tips on working with a pie crust - there are TONS of You Tube videos and many sites to walk you through. But you already knew that, right?
Back to the plum tart recipe.
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