Grow the Fruit for the Best Tart Recipe
The idea for growing fruit trees and mixing them into my landscape came from my Great Grandmother. My Great Grandmother turned her backyard into row after row of rose bushes and then a few back rows of fruit trees. It was a lovely garden that she adored; we would pull into the driveway to visit, and she would yell - "it's better than going to the doctor" she believed the garden was her medicine. She was out their daily pruning her roses, cutting bouquets and picking fruit. All of which inspired me as a young girl.
Today I have fruit trees growing and roses throughout my gardens, and they remind me of the beautiful way my great grandmother lived her life. If you have not grown fruit trees before, check what does well locally and put some in the ground. My row of 8 plum trees produces an abundance of plums now (just 3 the first year, about 80 a few years later), and I love them. I gift some and turn lots of them into plum tarts. Often I will share my own recipes here, but today I am sharing one of the most requested recipes from the New York Times - the Plum tart. It is perfection, and if you have not made it - please buy plums or grow them and make this tart!
xo, Tricia
Plum Tart Recipe
The New Elegant But Easy Cookbook, by Marian Burros and Lois Levine - Reprinted by The New York Times
¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup plus 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
Pinch salt
24 halves pitted Italian (prune or purple) plums
1 teaspoon cinnamon or more, to taste
Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the butter and the ¾ cup of sugar. Add the flour, baking powder, eggs, and salt and beat to mix well. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 9- or 10-inch springform pan. Cover the top with the plums, skin sides up. Mix the cinnamon with the remaining 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar and sprinkle over the top.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired.
To serve, let the tart return to room temperature and reheat at 300 degrees until warm, if desired. Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream.