A simple fruit tart becomes elegant when made with excellent ingredients and care. Here the filling is an almond cream topped with sliced fruit; you can use any fruit you like: peaches, apples, whatever is in season. We use plums because their color is so beautiful, and because they can be a little tart that sweet-sour mix offsets the sweetness of the rich almond cream. (As always, we’re careful about making desserts not overly sweet. To our tastes, many desserts in America are just too sweet. You shouldn’t be overwhelmed by the sweetness. We use sugar judiciously, to keep all the flavors in balance.) Like most fruit, or any ingredient with a lot of water in it, the plums will shrink as they bake, so be sure to use enough fruit to fill the tart shell generously.
Ingredients
- ½ recipe Pate Sucree
- 1¼ cups (250 grams) Almond Cream, at room temperature
- 10 small or 4 to 5 medium Santa Rosa plums or pluots (1½ to 2 inches in diameter)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (standard). Line a sheet pan with a Silpat or parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough and place it in the tart ring; the shell will not be blind-baked.
- Fill the pastiy bag with the almond cream. Starting in the center, pipe a spiral out to the edges of the tart shell.
- Cut the plums into 1/8-inch-thick wedges. Arrange a ring of plum slices, facing the same direction and each one overlapping the previous slice by about two-thirds, around the edge of the tart shell. Continue with a second ring that slightly overlaps the first. Arrange the remaining slices to fill the center of the tart.
- Bake for about 45 minutes, until the crust is well browned, the filling has set, and the plums are softened and juicy. Set the pan on a cooling rack to cool completely. Although it is tempting to serve the tart right out of the oven, the juices would run and it would be difficult to cut; it is preferable to let it cool to room temperature. Or, if you want very precise slices, refrigerate the tart until cold, then cut into wedges and serve cold or at room temperature.
- Run the tip of a paring knife between the top of the crust and the ring to loosen the crust, then lift off the ring.