Summer Plum Frangipane Tart

Ingredients

Pastry

160g plain flour

40g self raising flour (SRF)

50g icing sugar/mixture

100g cold butter, cubed

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla essence

Filling

120g butter, softened

100g icing sugar/mixture, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

10g plain flour

180g almond meal

3-4 large, firm plums, washed

Preparation

Place flours and icing sugar from the pastry ingredients into the processor and process for 20 seconds, or till mixed together. Add in the cold butter and process only very tiny lumps of butter remain.

Add the egg yolk and essence into the mixture and process for 30-40 seconds or till the mixture starts to clump together into a large mass.

Take the clumpy dough out of the processor and use your hands to press it into a smooth pastry disk and wrap it in cling wrap. (Don’t knead it at all) Refrigerate for one hour.

After an hour (especially in winter), take out the pastry from the fridge and let soften a little while you make the filling.

For the filling, use a handheld beater to beat the butter and sugar together till light and creamy. Add in the vanilla essence and the eggs, beating after each one, till the mixture is fully combined. It may look a little bit curdled. Keep scraping down the bowl between adding ingredients as well.

Sift in the flour, add in the almond meal and beat on very low speed carefully till just combined.

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (fan forced) or 180 degrees C regular, and roll out the unwrapped pastry between two large sheets of baking paper. I used my 20cm tart tin to make circles on the paper, so I knew how large to roll out the pastry. The thickness for me was around 5mm, give or take.

Remove the top piece of baking paper, and use the bottom piece to flip the the pastry directly on top of the tart tin. Gently press down using the palm of your hand, flattening the pastry to the bottom of the tin and to the sides. Peel off the baking paper carefully to avoid ripping the pastry underneath (much harder in summer).

Trim off the overhanging pieces of pastry and use to join up the tart anywhere it may be ripped or uneven. You shouldn’t need a lot if the tart is the right thickness.

Spoon in the frangipane filling and evenly spread it all over the tart tin. Cut thin wedge pieces from the plums and push slightly into the almond mixture in any design desired.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, turning the tin halfway through baking for even browning, till the tart is golden brown.

Let cool on the wire rack for an hour, before removing the tart from the tart tin to cool completely.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, icing sugar dusted on top and extra plums because why not?