I love tarts. Love them. I think they were probably the first “sophisticated” dessert that I developed a taste for, which tells you something about my eating habits as a child. I was a very finicky eater. My mom often had to cook two versions of a dish so that I would have something to eat. Beans without tomato sauce or okra, soup without carrots, meat not smothered in gravy, only chocolate milk, pb&j without crusts…you get the picture.
Before I ventured into tarts, I think it was pretty much cake, cookies, doughnuts and apple pie. Very plain stuff. My how things have changed. There is very little that I won’t eat nowadays. But that is another story for another post.
While I was reading Dracula, My Love, by Syrie James I came across this passage where I discover that Mina is a fellow tart lover. Her favorite is plum, which I don’t think I have ever had before. I have had the ones with assorted fruits and I have made blackberry and raspberry tarts for dinner guests.
After luncheon, we strolled down the main street of the village in a light-hearted mood. When Jonathan saw that the baker’s shop was selling miniature plum tarts (my life-long favorite), he insisted on purchasing some. We consumed the delicious treats on a bench in a little park overlooking the river , where we tossed morsels of crust to the ducks and geese gathered at our feet on the grassy bank.
For a dinner party that I hosted earlier this year, I made a very easy tart and it turned out to be quite yummy. The one that I made was very simplified but I came across this more elaborate one from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, on the Food Network.
Plum Tart Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), diced
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 pounds firm, ripe Italian prune plums, pitted and quartered lengthwise
Directions
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.
This post will be included in the Weekend Cooking feature over at Beth Fish Reads. You should check that out. It’s yummy!
Other reviews and posts:
Yummy! Plums are one of my favorite fruits, so this sounds delicious to me.
I love plums! It is so easy for me to eat two or three of them at a time when they are just a little bit chilled.
I so can’t wait to read this one!! I like plums but they have to be ripe or else I can’t handle them!
Staci´s last [type] ..Never Let You Go by Erin Healy
When I was growing up we would eat the sour ones sprinkled with a little salt, but I do like the riper ones better. Especially for tarts.
I have to confess, when I saw the title of the post, I was thinking you’d be featuring something like blood pudding. Plum tarts are MUCH more appetizing.
I did think about digging up a picture of a vial of blood, but this just seemed to be so much more appetizing.
I don’t think I have ever had plum tart. It sounds delicious and I might just have to try the recipe.
vivienne´s last [type] ..Where did that week go
I haven’t had a plum one either, but I am sure they must be delicious. How can they not be
This post has got my mouth watering! I love tarts, too; I totally agree that they’re a very classy, sophisticated dessert. Plum would be an interesting one to try! My favorites are definitely blackberry and pumpkin. I’ve never tried to make them myself, but maybe someday!
Meg´s last [type] ..Books as purses — the latest way to feed my literary obsession
I have never had a pumpkin plum, but that sounds delicious. I will be on a mission come Halloween when everyone breaks out the seasonal desserts.
Yum yum yum yum! I’ve never had a plum tart in my life, but they’re just so darn PRETTY! I love plums, and I love tarts, so I can’t imagine anything but winning combo.
Andi´s last [type] ..Outspoken Interview- Lucy Knisley- author of French Milk
You know, I tried and I really can’t think of any fruit that wouldn’t be good in a tart except for maybe watermelon.
I Love Ina Garten’s recipes and this sounds wonderful.
Beth F´s last [type] ..Review- Major Pettigrews Last Stand by Helen Simonson
I love her recipes too. They are usually filled with the good stuff!
Nicole, another foodish thing we have in common…I LOVE TARTS! All kinds of tarts!
The next time I go to Sag Harbor, I am going to bring home for you one of these tart called “fruits of the forest” and you can come over and we’ll feast…it’s made right at the farm stand with fruits grown right there. It has plums in it too and is so so good.
I love Ina Garten’s cookbooks, and her desserts are the best. Love her peach rasberry cobbler.
Allie ~ Hist-Fic Chick´s last [type] ..Blogoversary- A Very Merry Unbirthday!
We need a little dinner party! I would love to try one of those tarts and I love peach cobbler! Let’s do it.
…PS. All I could think of when I came across that passage in Dracula, My Love was, “why on earth is she wasting that delicious crust on the geese!”
Allie ~ Hist-Fic Chick´s last [type] ..Blogoversary- A Very Merry Unbirthday!
I thought the same thing! The crust is the best part.
YUMMY!
In the background my mom is asking me, if I will stop ogling at the images! LOL!
I love plums!
Veens´s last [type] ..Shorty Talks- Fro My Wife by Greta Krafsig