No. 100Recipe Card Posted on 5 Comments

Plum Tart

THIS IS JUST TO SAY…Plum Tart is a taste treat recreated from my past, a humble childhood treat orginally fashioned from scraps of leftover pastry sprinkled with sugar, baked crisp and topped while still hot from the oven with a spoonful of homemade plum preserves. Close your eyes, take a bite of Plum Tart – a grown up version of little jewel from the kitchen.

THIS IS JUST TO SAY
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
             William Carlos Williams

Plums, the most delicious fruit celebrated in this poem from the familiar favorite childhood book Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle, were abundant in my Grandmother’s garden – so abundant that jars and jars of plum preserves could be produced without any notice of the many ripe plums I would snatch from the trees, either by climbing on a stool or using a stick to dislodge the luscious fruit for my avail. Bijouxs Plum Tart is a recreation of a taste from the past, simple and humble, yet as delicious as the fruit itself.

The recipe, if I dare call it one, involves a simple slab of pie dough rolled into a large, rough edged circle, topped with cut ripe plums, then folding the edges of the dough in wide pleats over the filled tart with a sprinkle of sugar and baked until golden brown and crisp. But to fully recreate the aforementioned childhood treat, the baked tart is brushed with an ample dose warmed red currant jelly, which replicates the fresh plum preserves that topped the pastry scraps.

This Plum Tart is made using the small Italian prune plums, little blue jewels that bake to reveal a most perfect burgundy-red hue. Of course, cruising the farmers market and spotting a basket of Italian plums in February is a find, with a race home to bake a Plum Tart. Any luscious ripe plum will do, just cut larger plums into smaller slices to cover the tart surface. Peaches and other stone fruits swap out well for the plums, changing the red currant jelly to apple or something lighter if using peaches or apricots. Of course, if you a lucky enough to have a jar of beautiful homemade plum preserves, do not hesitate to bake up some pastry scraps and enjoy the original childhood treat.

THIS IS JUST TO SAY, a Plum Tart is luscious little jewel in any season.

As always, enjoy. B

5 thoughts on “Plum Tart

  1. I was going to ask where you got plums in February, but I guess you lucked into them! I’m sure you can find them at the supermarket from Chile, but bleh! What a gorgeous galette, as I prefer to call it (potato/potahto)!

    1. Hi Lentil – Spotted these local plums (and French plums) at the apple vendor’s stand last week! Since I was pretty much grounded due to a fall off a ladder during the holidays (everyone seems to have a ladder story) my first visit to the farmers market in 2012 was a real treat.

    1. That is so very wild! I just read your post – I never saw it! I have loved that poem forever and now I have another recipe, courtesy of you, to add to my stolen plums file. Thank you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.