Plum Puffs Recipes

PLUM PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F Grease a 12-cup muffin pan.
• Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Add 1 cup plum pulp (see instructions at end of recipe), cream, egg, and 1/4 cup melted butter and stir until combined (should still be lumpy, not smooth).
• Spoon batter into muffin cups to about 2/3 full. Bake about 20 minutes or until centers are set. Remove puffs from pan immediately.
• While puffs are baking, combine cinnamon and sugar. As soon as the puffs are removed from the pan, dip tops into melted butter, then into cinnamon-sugar mixture.
• To make plum pulp: Wash plums and place in a large pot. Add a little water (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup) to pot--just enough to make some steam. Cover and heat over very low heat until the fruit is soft. Pour the juice and some fruit into a colander set over a large bowl (to catch juices and pulp). Mash the fruit around with a potato masher (not too hard--you don't want to break the pits!) until most of the pulp and skins have been pressed through the colander. Discard the pits, add some more fruit to the colander, and repeat until all the fruit has been pressed through. 2 lbs of plums should yield about 3 cups pulp, which may be used for this recipe, frozen in containers or freezer bags, or made into jam. Look for European plums, not Asian plums as they are not as good for cooking.

PLUM AND FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Unfold the sheet of puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper set in a rimmed baking sheet. Trim the sides if necessary to make a neat rectangle. Using a sharp paring knife, score a 1-inch border around the puff pastry, taking care not to cut through the sheet. Using a fork, dock the sheet all over but within the border.
• Bake the puff pastry just until lightly golden, about 24 minutes. (Keep in mind that you will be baking it again, so it doesn't have to be completely baked through yet.) Remove from the oven. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.
• While the pastry bakes, prepare the frangipane: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add the nut flour, brown sugar, butter and salt, and beat by hand using a wooden spoon or whisk, or with an electric mixer, until well-combined. (If there are small bits of butter in the frangipane, that's OK.)
• In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and cardamom.
• When the puff pastry is out of the oven, use the back of a spoon to gently press down the pastry within the border. Immediately spread the frangipane over the pastry within the border. Arrange the fruit over the top of the frangipane. Sprinkle the cardamom sugar over the fruit.
• Bake until the frangipane is golden brown in spots and set in the center, 30 to 35 minutes, tenting the edges of the pastry with foil if they are browning too quickly.
• Transfer to a rack to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

ROAST PLUM DUCK PUFFS

Steps:

• Mix the ginger with the soy and plum sauces, oil and honey in a deep dish, then add the duck legs, turning to coat. Cover and chill for at least 20 mins.
• Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Lift the duck legs onto a non-stick baking tray, then roast for 1½ hrs until crisp and golden. Meanwhile, tip the remaining marinade into a small saucepan and simmer for 2 mins, then cool. When the duck is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and shred the meat. Mix with the cooled marinade and spring onions.
• Unroll the pastry onto a floured surface and roll it out even thinner until you have a sheet large enough to stamp out 10 circles using a 9-10cm round cutter. Put 2 tsp of the duck filling in the middle of each circle, brush the edges of pastry with a little egg, then fold the pastry circles in half, pressing to seal so you have a half-moon shape (any remaining duck makes a great filling for wraps). Transfer the puffs to a baking sheet and brush with more egg. Can be frozen for up to 1 month. Bake for 15-20 mins until golden, or 5 mins longer from frozen.