I was lucky enough to grow up on a farm, that had a blossoming orchard. Which meant fresh fruit for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. I have many memories of running outside my bedroom and going to the orchard and testing on all the beautiful fruit.
We used to have black dorris plums, (perfect plums for canning and stewing), then we had Mirabelle plums, they had a yellow centre and had a shape more like a pear. Then we had our eating plums, yellow flesh but red skin. Delicious.
The beauty about my childhood was that I learnt what good food really is. And now looking at the last couple years of my life, that upbringing has set me in my ways. I'm always buying the freshest, organist and tastiest produce I can lay my hands on.
I have fond memories of when my grandad used to come down to the farm. He used to make big bonfires, sweep the leaves and help my mum and I bottle and can all the fruit produce. Stewed apple, bottled pears and plums. Canned peaches were my ultimate favourite though.
We had this part on the deck, with a 4 seater seat and a wooden table. Where 3 of us would peel, chop, and stew. We made a pretty good production line and would manage to make enough produce to last us till the next season.
This plum tart has a sweet shortcrust pastry, a pistachio frangipane filling, and stewed plums. A plum glaze, chopped pistachio nuts and icing sugar to garnish the edges of the tart.
I like this tart a lot because the sweet fruit complements the salty pistachio nuts. The nuts give it that crunch element and the pastry provides that buttery taste.
This is the kinda tart, that keeps fresh for longer then standard tarts because it has the stewed plums to help keep it moist and flavourful. If you store it in an airtight container at room temperature I know this tart is still good after a week. Easy!
You can most definitely make this tart in a circle tart tin, I just love tarts in a rectangle tart tin, I think they are really visually appealing.
I do love this styled shoot, probably because purple is my favourite colour and this has a lot of purple and pink colours. Also I like how rustic I made it look, quarter pieces of plum, pistachio nuts, sugar cubes and two forks sitting on the tea plates.
I am very thankful for my mums kitchen collection. She had a whole chest full of different plates, tea cups, saucers, knives, serving spoons. For a food stylist who liked rustic design and shoots it was a dream!
Recipe:
Plum Pistachio Almond Tart
Ingredients:
1x Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
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Filling:
2 tins dorris plums
75g butter softened
75g caster sugar
2 eggs beaten
75g ground almonds
2 eggs beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Glaze:
1/2 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup water
2 gelatine leaves soaked
Method:
I usually double the recipe if I am filling a long oblong tart tin.
Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Place your butter and sugar in a bowl, and cream until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs, one at a time, make sure it is throughly combined.
Next mix in the almond meal and vanilla.
Spread the frangipane (what this filling is called) over the cooled tart shell.
Open the can of plum dorris, cut each plum in half segments, discarding the stone inside. Place the plum halves upside down, so it has the smooth side of the plum facing up. (Not the side you cut into)
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until frangipane is golden brown.
Remove from the oven, and pop the tart out of its tin. Allow it too cool on a wire rack.
Assembly:
Make your glaze, soak your gelatine leaves in ice cold water for 5 minutes. While your leaves are soaking place the jam and water in a saucepan and heating until the jam breaks down.
Take the jam off the heat, squeeze the water out of your gelatine leaves and mix them into the jam.
Using a pastry brush, brush the jam onto the tart, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle the crushed pistachio nuts on the edges of the pastry tart shell.
Dust with icing sugar! Perfect
That is all babes x
