I am bringing to you another beautiful recipe that comes from my collection of simple recipes. This Plum Tart is an easy dessert that looks amazing on the table, and it is perfect for any occasion.
You have to love fruit tarts. They are easy to make, elegant, and worth every bite. Perfect for any occasion, fruit tarts are not only delicious but also cheap to make.
This recipe is made with a buttery sweet crust, topped with ground walnuts, plums, and a delicious custard made with flour, egg, milk, and a little bit of sour cream.
Part of my collection of Pies and Tarts, this tart is a sister of my other plum recipes, like this Easy Plum Coffee Cake, or this German Plum Kuchen (Pflaumenkuchen). You will probably want to also try this Spiced Plum Crumble Tart, an elegant dessert perfect for entertaining. These recipes are the best opportunity to take advantage of plums while still in season.
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What plums are suitable for this recipe?
I love plums. Plums are a popular fruit that grows widely where I come from, and the Farmer's Markets are full of them at the end of the summer.
I personally love the Italian plum, an oblong purple fruit that is smaller in size than the American plum.
However, I do not want you to think that you cannot make this dessert just because you cannot find this type of fruit.
Regular plums are perfect, too, just bigger in size and probably easier to shape on the tart.
They are also juicy and delicious, combined with a little bit of sugar and cinnamon.
While you might think that fresh plums are too bland or tart, try baking a dessert with them, it is a game-changer!
Plums become sweet and flavorful and can handle lots of spices.
Key ingredients for this plum tart:
For the crust:
- All-purpose flour
- Unsalted butter(cold)- this is an important thing to remember. Cold butter makes the pastry flaky and delicious.
- Granulated sugar
- Salt- brings the flavors together. Every recipe for pastry should require a pinch of salt.
- Zest from a lemon
- Vanilla extract
- Large egg- this might be an odd ingredient for a regular crust, but eggs make the dough more pliable and very easy to roll out.
- Water or milk- for moisture
For the Plums layer:
- Ground walnuts
For the Custard:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Cinnamon
- Milk
- Large Egg
- Sour cream
Instructions
Crust:
You have two options, to make the crust by hand or with a food processor. I chose the food processor because I have it, and it makes my life so much easier.
In the food processor:
Step 1.
Mix flour, sugar, and salt and place in the food processor. Add cold butter cut into small cubes, and pulse a few times until you obtain a mixture that resembles sand or bread crumbs.
Step 2.
Do not overmix. Add lemon zest, vanilla extract, egg, and water, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing a few times until the mixture holds together.
It should look something like that.
By hand: Mix flour, sugar, and salt together, then cut the cold butter into small cubes and add it to the flour. Use a pastry tool to incorporate the butter into the flour, or use your fingertips. You should have a mixture that resembles sand or bread crumbs.
Add lemon zest, vanilla extract, the egg, and water, one tablespoon at a time, and lightly knead the dough until the mixture holds together.
Step 3.
Make the dough into a disk, wrap it, and place it in the refrigerator for an hour.
Shortcut:
If you have no time to make this crust, you can definitely buy a frozen pie shell. I like making my own pie dough because it is pretty easy. I sometimes make a double batch and freeze it, so I have pastry when I need it.
Slice the plums for the pie:
Before you start preparing the plums for the tart, preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
Slice the plums in half, remove the stone, and then cut each half into 4-5 slices. If you can't remove the stone, just carefully cut around it.
Set aside.
Make The Custard:
Mix flour, sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Separately beat together the egg with milk and sour cream. Pour the liquid over the flour mixture and mix well. Set aside.
Assemble The Plum Tart:
Butter the bottom of a 9-inch pie or tart pan. Lightly dust your work surface with flour.
Roll out dough on floured board to a 12-inch size. This will fit into a 9-inch pan. Trim away excess.
Sprinkle walnuts on the dough.
Arrange the plum slices in a circle.
Pour the custard mixture right over the plums and place small pieces of butter on top of the tart.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until the pastry is golden, the fruit tender, and the custard set.
It looks so yummy, right? I loved the color of this dessert, and the taste is awesome.
I took photos of this plum tart without decorations. I loved the "naked" look of it and the beautiful color of the baked plums.
You can definitely serve it with whipped cream, or ice cream or just drizzle a little bit of honey over it.
The tart doesn't have much sugar, so the honey will definitely make a beautiful glaze on top of the tart and add more sweetness to it.
NOTES
- Use almond flour instead of ground walnuts if you prefer.
- Drizzle honey on top of the tart before you serve it. Ice cream or whipped cream are good, too, unless you just prefer some powdered sugar to dust over the entire surface of the tart.
- This tart is best on the day you bake it, but it keeps well in the refrigerator for a couple of days. The crust will become softer a little bit, but it will still be good.
I think you will love this recipe, and I look forward to seeing your comments below.
More Recipes With Plum
📖 Recipe
Plum Tart
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 9 tablespoons unsalted butter cold
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2-3 tablespoons water or milk
Plums layer:
- 1 ½ pounds plums
- ¼ cup ground walnuts
Custard:
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 4 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons butter , cut in small cubes, for the top of the tart
Instructions
Make The Crust:
- In a food processor:Mix flour, sugar, and salt together and place them in the food processor. Add cold butter cut into small cubes, and pulse a few times until you obtain a mixture that resembles sand or bread crumbs. Do not overmix. Add lemon zest, vanilla extract, the egg, and water, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing a few times until the mixture holds together.
- By hand:Mix flour, sugar, and salt together, then cut the cold butter into small cubes and add it to the flour. Use a pastry tool to incorporate the butter into the flour, or use your fingertips. You should have a mixture that resembles sand or bread crumbs. Add lemon zest, vanilla extract, the egg, and water, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture holds together.
- Make the dough into a disk, wrap it and place it in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
Make The Plum Layer:
- Slice the plums in half and remove the stone, then cut each half into 4-5 slices. If you can't remove the stone, just carefully cut around it.
- Set aside.
Make The Custard:
- Mix flour, sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Separately beat together the egg with milk and sour cream. Pour the liquid over the flour mixture and mix well. Set aside.
Assemble The Plum Tart:
- Butter the bottom of a 9-inch pie or tart pan.
- Lightly dust your work surface with flour.
- Roll out dough on floured board to 12-inch size. This will fit in a 9-inch pan. Trim away excess.
- Sprinkle walnuts on the dough.
- Arrange the slices of plums in a circle.
- Pour over the plums the custard mixture. Add the little cubes of butter on top of the tart.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until the pastry is golden, the fruit tender, and the custard set.
Notes
- Slice the plums in half and remove the stone, then cut each half into 4-5 slices. If you can't remove the stone, just carefully cut around it.
- Use almond flour instead of ground walnuts if you prefer.
Kathy L McLain says
You mention egg in the recipe for the custard...but it's not in the list of ingredients?
The Bossy Kitchen says
You are right. You need one egg. Somehow it got lost in the process. Sorry about that, it is back on the list now.
Sheila Huber says
Could you use a Pillsbury pie shell ready to use?
The Bossy Kitchen says
Yes, you can use a Pillsbury pie shell, if you prefer.
Jessica says
Hello! Could I use heavy cream instead of milk and omit the flour from the custard?
Gabriela says
Hey there!
Thank you for your question. While the idea of using heavy cream sounds indulgent, it will indeed make your custard richer and creamier. However, omitting the flour might be a bit tricky. The flour acts as a thickening agent in the custard, and without it, the consistency might not set as intended.
For the best results, I recommend sticking to the original recipe. If you still want to modify it, maybe try a small test batch first to see how it turns out. That way, you'll know what to expect for the larger tart. You can also replace the flour with some corn starch, if the flour is your main concern. However, keep in mind that if you are looking for a gluten free recipe, this tart might not be for you unless you replace the regular crust with a gluten free one.
I hope this helps, and I'm thrilled you're trying out the recipe!
Jessica R Rossi says
Thanks for the response! I am planning to use a gluten free almond flour crust, so corn starch is a great idea.
Ashley T says
This is my first time making this recipe and it is absolutely wonderful! The shell is incredibly simple but has a fantastic taste (I did blind bake for 10 minutes to play it safe) and the plum and custard mix has a lovely flavor without being overly sweet. I did substitute the sour cream for heavy cream and that did add more of a creaminess to the custard which was a pleasant surprise. I'll definitely be making this again!
Gabriela says
Thank you for trying the recipe and making the recipe your own! This is awesome!