Marthas Plum Dessert Food

PLUM TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the frangipane: In the bowl of a food processor, combine butter and sugar. Process until smooth. Add eggs, salt, and almond extract. Pulse to combine. Add almond and all-purpose flours, and process until a fine paste forms. Set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll pate sucree dough into a 12-inch circle. Fit circle into a 10-inch tart tin with a removable bottom, being careful not to stretch dough too thin. Spread 3 tablespoons jam into bottom of lined tart tin.
• Transfer frangipane to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch tip. Pipe evenly over jam. Arrange plum wedges over frangipane in a circular pattern, closely overlapping wedges and completely covering frangipane. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake until crust is golden and plums are cooked through and beginning to caramelize, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool.
• In a small saucepan, melt remaining 3 tablespoons jam. Brush evenly over cooled tart. Serve at room temperature.

PLUM SKILLET CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch ovenproof skillet(preferably cast-iron); dust with flour, tapping out excess.Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and1/2 teaspoon salt. Beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar with a mixeron medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg. Addflour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk.
• Pour batter into prepared skillet, and smooth topwith an offset spatula. Fan plums on top, and sprinkle withremaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until goldenbrown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes outclean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly.

PLUM TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a 9 1/2-by-13 1/2-inch rimmed baking sheet (quarter sheet pan) with parchment, leaving a 2-inch over-hang on long sides.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an approximately 14 1/2-by-11 1/2-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Trim edges so you're left with a 14-by-11-inch rectangle. Fit into sheet (dough should come all the way up sides without an overhang). Freeze 15 minutes.
• Stir together fruit, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt; arrange mixture in tart shell, in a single, slightly overlapping layer (if using a variety of colors of fruit, arrange by color if desired).
• Bake 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375° and continue baking, rotating sheet twice, until fruit is bubbling and pastry is puffed and cooked through, 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes (if pastry is browning too quickly, tent with foil; if middle puffs up during baking, remove sheet from oven, use scissors to snip a little hole in puffed-up spot, and return to oven).
• Let cool completely in sheet on a wire rack. Use parchment overhangs to remove before cutting into pieces to serve. Tart can be stored at room temperature, covered loosely with foil, up to 1 day.

MARTHA'S PLUM DESSERT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Generously butter six 3 1/2-cup ovenproof bowls. Place one nectarine half, cut side down, in the center of each bowl. Arrange 8 plum halves, cut sides facing up, around each nectarine half. Sprinkle each bowl with 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar. Dot fruit with butter.
• Place bowls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until fruit is juicy and softened, about 30 minutes. Transfer bowl to a wire rack to cool.
• To serve, place a large scoop of ice cream in each bowl. Top each with a crisp puff pastry top. Serve immediately.

RASPBERRY-PLUM CRUMB TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan; set aside. Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Bake until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Rub warm nuts in a clean kitchen towel to remove skins. Let cool. Place nuts in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until medium fine, about 30 pulses.
• Transfer the nuts to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the light-brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; mix until just combined. Add butter, and mix on low speed until the crumb begins to stick together, 2 to 3 minutes. Press 3 cups of crumb into the bottom of the prepared pan and about 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the pan to form the crust. Set remaining crumb mixture aside.
• Transfer crust to the oven; bake until it appears to be set, 18 to 20 minutes. Set aside.
• Slice plums in half, and remove pits. Slice into eighths. Scatter 3/4 cup raspberries and sliced plums onto cooled crust; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon flour and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk in the egg, the egg yolk, heavy cream, milk, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and nutmeg (optional). Pour custard over fruit; sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Transfer tart to the oven; bake until custard has set and is slightly golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Garnish with remaining raspberries. Let rest at least 25 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PLUM-AND-PORT CROSTATA

Steps:

• Pulse flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the granulated sugar in a food processor. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, slowly add ice water until dough comes together. Shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Fit into an 8-inch pie dish, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Freeze for up to 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Simmer port and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add chile if desired. Cover, and let cool for 10 minutes.
• Stir together remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar and teaspoon salt, the plums, cornstarch, cinnamon, and port syrup. Transfer to pie shell. Fold in overhang to form a crust; brush crust with cream, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for 30 minutes; reduce oven to 375 degrees. Bake until golden and center is bubbling, about 45 minutes more. Let cool.