a plum job

What fruit haven't I baked into a pie? I think I've done all the berries, pears, apples, peaches, even mango (though it's been a while, I'll have to do that again soon). Is there anything left? Shockingly, yes. PLUMS.



Wait, what?! I've never made a pie or tart with plums before. I don't know why. It's delicious.



Despite the fact that half my plums were a little underripe, and half were a little overripe, and none were really all that perfect, this was a pretty tasty tart. The crust, from a recipe by Ina Garten, was especially good, a nutty mixture of flour and walnuts and buttery goodness, and doubled as a crumb topping.



Ina's recipe called for more sugar in the crust, but no sugar at all for the plums themselves. Worried that my fruit was a little on the tart side, I decided to sprinkle some of my vanilla sugar on top of the fruit. This turned out to be a good idea, and in fact it could have used even more sugar, it was still on the tart side after baking. But no worries, that was rectified by some vanilla whipped cream. And tonight, I'll dose the leftovers with a bit more sugar before warming it up and serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Can't. Wait. Recipe after the jump:



PLUM TART
Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), diced
1 egg yolk
2 pounds firm, ripe Italian prune plums, pitted and quartered lengthwise
3 tbsp vanilla sugar (or 3 tbsp plain sugar plus 1 tsp vanilla extract)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in a food processor and pulse until the walnuts are finely chopped. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles couscous. Add the egg yolk and pulse until fully incorporated.

Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan. Refridgerate for 30 minutes.

Arrange the plums in the pan, skin side down, to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in.

Sprinkle the vanilla sugar over the plums. If you do not have vanilla sugar, sprinkle a teaspoon of vanilla extract, followed by plain sugar. Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums. Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.