Beach Plum Tart

When you make a lot of jams and jellies it's gratifying to find new ways to put them to good use. After you've laid in a comfortable supply for personal use (be sure to factor in toppings for yogurt) and gift giving (holidays made easy!), try them out in a fruit tart.

Beach plum jelly is a great example. Delicious, unusual and served with big dollop of faux-modest pride. As in, "Aw shucks, it's nothing really. I only had to forage a couple of gallons of wild beach plums, then make some jelly. Then bake a tart. The crust? Oh something of my own devising, actually. Couldn't be simpler."

Hmm, maybe I should change the name of this blog to insufferably delicious.

So about the crust: it's a shortbread and it's truly a breeze. No chilling, no rolling, no pre-baking. Just flour, sugar, butter, and a grating of spice mixed up with you fingers and patted into the pan. Crisp, sweet, sturdy. What more could you want?
Regular plums form the base of the filling. A mix of prune plums and red plums are used in this recipe. After baking, the beach plum jelly is spread all over the top, melting down into the fruit and binding it all together with a brilliant purple intensity. A scattering of nuts makes it even snazzier.

This recipe is from this master recipe for fruit tarts.

BEACH PLUM TART
Recipe for 11″ tart with beach plum and plum filling

CRUST:

2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 sticks butter (1/2 cup), room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (or grated tonka bean, if you happen to have it)

FILLING
6 cups sliced plums
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/2 cup beach plum jelly, plus extra if needed.

1. In mixing bowl add the flour, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir together to mix. Slice the butter and use your fingers to work it in, pinching and squeezing until it looks like gravel and holds together loosely when balled.
2. Press dough into the bottom and up the sides of a 11″ tart pan with a removable bottom.
3. Add the sliced fruit to the mixing bowl, along with 3/4 cup sugar, 3 Tablespoons flour, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix well, spoon into the crust, including the juices. Sprinkle the nuts over the top.
4. Bake at 375º for 55 minutes.
5. Remove from oven, let cool on a wire rack. Melt 1/2 cup of the beach plum jelly and brush evenly on top of the fruit and nuts. Let cool completely before serving. Use more jelly if needed to get good coverage.

No one will be upset if you offer whipped cream or ice cream with a slice of Summer Fruit Tart.

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