Jeweled Plum Tartlets Recipes

BROWN SUGAR PLUM TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll pastry out onto a flat work surface. Line a tart tin with the pastry.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Sprinkle semolina evenly over the pastry. Place plum halves on top in a circular pattern. Sprinkle brown sugar over plums.
• Return tart to the oven and bake until plums are tender and pastry is golden, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

MINI PLUM TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 Degrees C (400F).Set the frozen pastry aside to thaw. Do not allow it to become too soft. Return it to the fridge to keep cool if necessary.
• In a medium-sized bowl, place the cream cheese, icing/powdered sugar, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Using hand-held electric beaters or a stand mixer, beat until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
• Halve the plums and remove the stone.Using a sharp knife, cut each plum half in thin slices about ½ cm (1/8"). Set aside.
• Use a 7cm (2 ½") round cookie cutter to cut 9 circles out of each sheet of pastry.
• Using a smaller cookie cutter, mark a circle about 1cm (¼") in from the edges of the pastry circles.
• Use a fork to prick the pastry inside the smaller circle.
• Dab about a teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture in the centre. Spread the filling inside the smaller circle of each pastry.
• Arrange the slices of plum on top of the cream cheese mixture.
• Brush the edges of the pastries with the beaten egg. Sprinkle the edges of each pastry with about a half teaspoon of demerara sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until the edges of the pastry are a lovely golden brown.
• Gently lift the pastries onto a cooling rack.Allow the pastry to cool a few minutes before serving. The plum will be very hot.The pastries are lovely served warm with our Vanilla Ice Cream.

CARAMELIZED PLUM TART

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Unfold the pastry on a baking sheet.
• Sprinkle the pastry sheet with the almonds and 2 tablespoons sugar to within 1/4-inch of the edge. Arrange the plum slices on the pastry sheet, overlapping slightly, if needed. Sprinkle the plums with the remaining sugar.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Top each serving with 1/2 cup ice cream, if desired.

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.

DAMSON TARTLETS

Steps:

• Make pastry dough:
• Pulse flour, butter, and confectioners sugar in a food processor until it resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolks and pulse just until a dough forms.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Form each half into a 4-inch square (about 1 inch thick) and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze until solid, at least 2 hours.
• Make compote while pastry freezes:
• Bring whole plums, sugar, wine, and bay leaf to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat, covered, stirring occasionally until sugar has dissolved (be careful juices don't boil over). Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until plums fall apart, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and chill, uncovered, until cold, then cover. Discard pits and bay leaf, then add a little confectioners sugar to taste if desired.
• Bake pastry:
• Coarsely grate pastry from one frozen square into tartlet pans, dividing it evenly. (Reserve remaining dough for another use.) Press dough flakes into tartlet pans to line bottoms and sides evenly. Prick bottoms all over with a fork, then freeze tartlets until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
• Put tartlets in a shallow baking pan and put in oven. Turn oven temperature down to 400°F and bake until shells are golden all over, 15 to 18 minutes.
• Transfer tartlet pans to a rack to cool completely, then remove shells from pans.
• Make cream filling:
• Put cream in a large bowl, then scrape seeds from vanilla bean into cream. Beat in sugar and zest with an electric mixer until cream just holds stiff peaks. Fold in about 2 tablespoons plum compote, then divide cream among tartlet shells. Serve topped with some of remaining compote (you will have a lot left over).

NECTARINE AND PLUM TARTLETS

Steps:

• Make pastry:
• Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1/4 cup ice water and process using on/off turns until moist clumps form. Gather dough together. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out each dough disk on floured surface to 5 1/2-inch round. Transfer rounds to 4 1/2-inch-diameter tartlet pans with removable bottoms. Press dough onto bottoms and up sides of pans. Place pans on baking sheet.
• Make filling:
• Toss nectarines, plums and sugar in large bowl. Arrange fruit in crusts. Bake tartlets 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and continue baking until fruit is tender and beginning to bubble and crusts are golden, about 40 minutes longer. Transfer tartlets to rack and cool completely. Place berry in center of each.
• Stir jelly in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted. Brush warm jelly over tartlets. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)