Plum Frangipane Tart

During my pastry program, we had a class all about French baking. I'm not much into the fancy techniques and would much rather have a slice of pie than a chocolate croissant. But I saw a recipe for this tart yesterday and I decided to give it a go. It turned out exceptionally well! I used black plums and they cooked down perfectly in the tart. It didn't have an overwhelmingly strong almond flavor, but was just enough to balance with the plums. I will note that the recipe I used measured everything in grams so you will need a kitchen scale, or you can find the conversions online.

Pastry

200g slightly softened butter

400g AP flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

4 tbsp cold water

Frangipane (filling)

200g soft butter

200g sugar

1 tsp almond extract

2 eggs

200g ground almonds

5-6 black plums

1. For the crust, in a food processor pulse the butter, flour, sugar and salt until it looks like cornmeal. Add the egg and water and pulse until just combined.

2. Pour mixture onto the counter and and form into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and and place in the fridge while you make the filling.

3. For the filling, beat the butter ans sugar until light a fluffy. And the almond extract and eggs and beat until just combined. Fold in the ground almonds.

4. Preheat the over to 350. Take the crust out on the fridge and begin rolling it out. I rolled it between two sheets of plastic wrap so it wouldn't stick to the counter top. once it's wide enough for your tart pan remove plastic wrap and place in pan. Remove and excess dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

5. While the crust is cooling, Slice the plums into equal size wedges.

6. Take crust out, spoon in frangipane filling and spread evenly over the crust. Place the plums on top of the filling and push down slightly, but not all the way. Create any pattern you desire, using as many slices as you'd like. Dust the top with a little more sugar, to help the top brown.

7. Bake tart on top of a cookie sheet for 40-50 minutes or until gold brown on top. Take out of oven and allow to cool. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.