Late Summer Plum Tart

As peach season wanes and the late summer sun shines brightest, plums arrive in their multicolored splendor. They come in vibrant red, yellow, orange, green, and pink-purple colors.

Plums belong to the same family as peaches, nectarines and apricots. Over 2,000 varieties of plums exist, each with a diverse set of shapes and colors, and they are divided into the following six categories – Japanese, American, Ornamental, Damson, Wild, and European.

One of the best things about plums is how versatile they are. Both sweet and spicy recipes work well with them. Brown sugar, cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon are plums’ best friends.

Plums aren’t the summer darling of fruits and are underutilized. But that means you can easily use them to add an unexpected twist to traditional recipes.

Gently spiced, this plum tart celebrates the summer-into-fall season. Quartered and nestled into the batter, the plums soften into mulberry-colored pockets as they bake.

While a slice of this seasonal fruit tart needs no embellishment, a scoop of vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream doesn’t hurt.

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Late Summer Plum Tart
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Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Servings
Ingredients
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line the sides of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon & cardamom.
  3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter & 1 cup sugar until pale & fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg & vanilla; beat on low speed until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture alternating with the milk. Beat on low speed until smooth & thick.
  4. Transfer the batter to prepared baking pan & smooth the top with a spoon or offset spatula. Arrange plums on top, skin side up, in circular patterns. Sprinkle the remaining 2 Tbsp of sugar over plums.
  5. Bake for 60 minutes or until golden on top & set in the center.
  6. Remove from oven then remove sides from springform pan leaving the base in place. Cool completely on a wire rack. Slice & serve with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

Plum Blossom Pastries

Its getting to be late summer/early fall and its ‘plum season’. Plums are easy to forget it seems. They’re not the most popular of summer fruits. Plums aren’t exotic as the fig or small and cute like blueberries. Plums are just plums and we should not overlook this humble fruit. They are actually quite special …. sweet & tart, not too big and not too small.

This particular dessert uses ‘plum butter’ which is simply a concentrated plum spread made by cooking plums down to a spreadable paste. These ‘cookies’ are using ready made puff pastry to keep life simple.

Puff pastry isn’t just for croissants. Arguably, its the foundation of many, many pastries as we know them today. Its a technique that lets you enjoy warm, flaky layers of dough instead of literally everything being a ‘biscuit’.

Using this spicy filling in the puff pastry dough really added a whole new dimension.

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Plum Blossom Pastries
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine French, German
Servings
Ingredients
Spicy Plum Butter
Course dessert
Cuisine French, German
Servings
Ingredients
Spicy Plum Butter
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Spiced Plum Butter
  1. In a large saucepan, combine juice & plums. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat & simmer 30 minutes or until tender. Place plum mixture in a food processor & process until smooth. Press pureed mixture through a fine sieve over a bowl; discard solids.
  2. Combine plum mixture, sugar & spices in pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered until mixture becomes a thick paste. Cool. Any extra not used for these cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 months.
Assembly & Baking
  1. Thaw pastry. Preheat oven to 400 F. From parchment paper, cut 9 pieces each about 4-inch square. In a small dish, whisk together egg & water to make egg wash.
  2. Using a sharp knife, cut pastry into 9 squares. Taking one square at a time, place on parchment paper squares. Brush edges with egg wash.
  3. Place about 1 tsp of the spiced plum butter in the middle of the pastry square. Bring the 4 corners together, then repeat for the sides.
  4. Shape pastry into a ball then flip. Lightly press the ball with your fingers. With a sharp knife, cut each piece into 12 equal parts from the center towards the outside edge. Leave the center part intact. Each part will become a pedal. Twist petals 45 degrees, all to the same side. The filling should be showing.
  5. Bake for about 15 minutes or until pastry is golden. Remove from oven & allow to cool. Dust with powdered sugar if you prefer.
Recipe Notes
  • Making the plum butter ahead of time definitely speeds up the cookie prep.
  • Alternately, you can probably find a nice jar of plum butter at a deli store & just add your own spices to it. Works too!

Roasted Summer Fruit with Spiced Mascarpone Cream

You guessed it —- more roasted fruit! It seems to be my addiction this summer. This time its not that I had fruit on hand but instead some mascarpone cheese. Who would dream of letting that go to waste?? Sometimes called  Italian Cream Cheese, mascarpone is believed to have originated in the Lombardy region of Italy. Mascarpone is used in both sweet and savory dishes to enhance the flavor without overwhelming the original taste. Lombardy has a rich agricultural and dairy heritage. Farms that produce the cheese provide their cows with special grasses that include fresh herbs and flowers. This in turn gives a unique taste to the milk and a creamy texture to the cheese.

Some years ago, Brion and I visited the Lombardy region of Italy. We have great memories of the wonderful food but probably even more so the beauty of the architecture and history. We spent a bit of time in Milan. While there we visited the world renowned ‘La Scala’ opera house and museum as well as the glass roofed shopping arcade and giant cathedral, the ‘Gothic Duomo’. I’ve included some of our photos from Milan for you to enjoy.


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Roasted Summer Fruit with Spiced Mascarpone Cream

Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Brunch, dessert

Servings

Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. In a skillet, toast almonds until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

  2. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a small roasting pan, toss together all prepared fruit, half of the sugar, the brandy & butter. Roast, stirring occasionally, until for tender, about 15-20 minutes.

  3. While fruit is roasting, beat together mascarpone, remaining sugar, vanilla, ginger & cardamom until smooth. In a separate bowl, whip cream; fold into mascarpone mixture along with half of the almonds.

  4. Divide mascarpone mixture into dessert dishes forming a mound in each. Spoon fruit & pan juices over top. Sprinkle with remaining almonds.


Recipe Notes
  • You can prepare the fruit & cream ahead. Just keep them in separate dishes; cover & refrigerate for up to 4 hours.