Plum Almond Tartlets Recipes

PLUM ALMOND TARTLETS

Steps:

• Make pastry dough:
• Blend together flour, salt, butter, and shortening with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons ice water and gently stir with a fork until incorporated. Squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until just incorporated, then test again. (Do not overwork, or pastry will be tough.)
• Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion. Gather dough together, with a pastry scraper if you have one, and press into a ball, then flatten into a 6-inch disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Macerate plums while dough chills:
• Toss plums with 2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Prepare filling and make tartlets:
• Pulse almonds with flour, salt, and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a food processor until very finely chopped, then add butter, egg, and Amaretto (if using), pulsing until just blended.
• Roll out dough into a 15-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Cut out 6 (5-inch) rounds and fit each round into a tartlet pan (don't trim). Prick bottoms all over with a fork and chill shells until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
• Drain plums, discarding juices. Divide almond filling among tartlet shells and arrange plums over it. Put pans on a baking sheet and bake until crust and filling are golden and plums are tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool tartlets completely in pans on a rack before unmolding. Just before serving, dust with confectioners sugar.

CLASSIC PLUM AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Lightly grease a 9-inch loose bottomed tart tin.
• Roll out the pastry to an even thickness and line the tart tin. Cut away any excess, crimp the edges for decoration if you wish, then pop the lined tin into the fridge while you make the filling.
• In a large baking bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. To do this, you can use either a fork, whisk, or electric hand whisk.
• Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add the vanilla extract.
• Then carefully, a little at a time, add the beaten egg to the creamed butter and sugar whisking continuously.
• Sift the flour into the ground almonds.
• Then, using a spatula or tablespoon, carefully fold the ground almonds and flour into the creamed mixture until thoroughly incorporated.
• Heat the oven to 350 F/175 C/Gas 4.
• Take the pastry case from the fridge and gently spoon the creamed almonds into the case and spread to fill-be careful not to be too heavy-handed and flatten out all the air from the mixture.
• Halve the plums, remove the stone, then cut each plum into thick slices (about 6 to 8 per plum).
• Slightly overlapping each slice, arrange in circles on top of the mixture, gently pushing each slice into the almond cream.
• Place the filled tart into the centre of the preheated oven. Bake for between 45 and 50 minutes until the pastry and filling is cooked and golden, and the plums softened and released their juices into the cake.
• Leave the tart to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then carefully remove and put onto a plate or cake stand.
• Serve cold with a nice cup of tea or coffee, warm with, as mentioned before, a little custard or cream.

PLUM ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Combine butter or oil, confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla bean seeds in a stand mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium and beat for 1 minute more. Scrape down sides of bowl, add the egg and then the flour, and continue mixing until smooth. Remove dough from the bowl, wrap in plastic and refrigerate, about 1 hour, or until firm.
• Make the almond filling: Grind together the blanched almonds and flour in a food processor until they form a textured almond flour.
• Combine butter or oil, confectioners' sugar and salt in a stand mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium and beat for 1 minute more. Scrape down sides of bowl, add egg and egg yolk, and continue mixing until mixture comes together and is homogeneous, about 2 minutes. Add almond mixture all at once, and mix until batter just comes together. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and set aside for 10 minutes. Knead dough to loosen it, then pat together into a ball again. On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12- to 13-inch round using a floured rolling pin. Quickly transfer dough to an 11-inch pie plate or tart shell, trimming the edges as needed. Place the lined shell in the freezer until frozen.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove shell from the freezer, line with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake crust for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to color. Remove the weights and bake 5 minutes longer. Cool completely.
• While the crust cools, cut plums into 1/4-inch wedges.
• Using an offset spatula, spread cooled tart shell with the almond cream. Starting at the outside of the pan, arrange plums in a circle on top so all the pieces overlap. Turn plums the opposite way for the second circle. Fill the center with the remaining plums or another fruit if you wish.
• Sprinkle a few pinches of turbinado sugar over plums and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until almond cream is puffed and golden brown and the plums are softened.

PLUM AND ALMOND GALETTE

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, butter, 1 teaspoon sugar, and salt; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup remaining ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Don't overmix. Remove dough from processor and shape into a disk; wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour. Meanwhile, wipe bowl of food processor clean and add almonds, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 2 tablespoons flour; pulse until ground to a coarse meal.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet; sprinkle almond mixture over dough. With a spatula, transfer plums to dough; press lightly to fan out, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold edge of dough over fruit. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Brush crust with cream; sprinkle galette with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until crust is golden and underside is cooked through, about 70 minutes.

PLUM AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Sift flour into bowl, cut in butter, add egg yolk and enough water to mix to a dry dough.
• Turn onto lightly floured surface, knead lightly until smooth, cover, refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Roll pastry large enough to line a 9-inch flan pan, refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile halve and seed plums, drain on absorbent paper.
• Combine almonds, sugar, lemon rind and egg in bowl, mix to a paste.
• Combine extra sugar and cinnamon thoroughly.
• Spread almond mixture into pastry case, top with plums, dot with butter, sprinkle with sugar mixture.
• Bake in 375°F oven about 50 minutes or until golden brown.
• Dust with powdered sugar, serve warm or cold with shipped cream and sliced almonds.