I often go into recipes that I shoot for this space with a pretty clear vision in mind. But rather than something that I have strategically planned step by step in an ordered manner, it is often a jumble of different thoughts that takes weeks or even months to come together inside my head in any semblance of something solid. Luckily with my personal work, I have the freedom to work at this more organic pace.
So for this tart, it all began when I was watching a food and travel show (can’t remember which) and a gorgeous french tart with blueberries and apples came on the TV. On top of a traditional frangipane, local fruit had been arranged in concentric circles, one alternating with the other. The effortless quality in which the cook made this tart really drew me. It felt like something she had been making for years and could make with her eyes covered. I knew that this was the sort of recipe that I wanted to do next time I went fruit picking. This thrown together style of dessert represents to me everything that local, seasonal eating is about.
A couple weekends ago I finally had the opportunity to go to my favorite farm upstate with some friends. I was hoping to catch the short bridge of time when cherries and blueberries are ready for the picking together. Visually, I knew I wanted to create something that that felt more tossed together. Having to meticulously lay out slices of fruit just didn’t appeal. Halved cherries would have been just the right size for the blueberries. Unfortunately, we missed cherries by just one week but the farm did have some already picked ones I could buy. With that plan in mind, I knew exactly the tart I would make. But as with many thing the best laid plans often go awry. Luckily for me they went awry in the best possible way.
So how to create a thrown together tart when you have to roll our pastry you ask? I want to introduce you to a genius method that I recently discovered while reading David Lebovitz’s blog. Instead of carefully cutting in cold butter, making sure to not over mix or warm up your dough, we are going to melt butter in the oven and then dump some flour in. Wait what? Huh? Yes, we are going strike out all of the rules of pastry making and do the exact opposite. Freedom! The mixture comes together into a soft dough that you just smudge (yes, literally smudge) around with your fingers into an even layer in the pan. The resulting crust is perfectly buttery and flaky but with none of the fuss of traditional pastry. If you are like me, not the greatest at super technical things/following directions, this recipe is almost foolproof.
There is nothing better than being able to throw together a dessert that doesn’t look thrown together.
To fill this crust I did a pine nut and basil filling, a play on traditional frangipane (almond cream). To add an extra bit of oomph I also added some cherry liquor. As with many of my other recipes, I urge you to play around with the flavors. This tart is infinitely adaptable.
- I made a second tart and added ground green cardamom to the crust to great success. Other spices could work here as well or even a hearty herb like thyme.
- If you don’t have cherry liquor, something else such as brandy or orange liquor could be great for the filling. Citrus zest would also make a great addition.
- If you can’t find these plums maybe do the cherries I originally planned to use. Other berries would work well too or even nectarines and peaches.
P.S. don’t let your cat get to your tart crust or else you will need to patch it up like I did here.
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G O L D E N P L U M + B L U E B E R R Y P I N E N U T T A R T
makes 1 tart
1 prebaked 9-inch french tart crust, cooled
1 cup pine nuts
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup + 3/4 teaspoon raw sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons AP flour
2 3/4 teaspoons Heering cherry liquor
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, minced
1/2 cup blueberries
200 grams (12 small golden plums, halved) or 4-5 regular plums (sliced)
3/4 teaspoon cherry liquor
1/2 teaspoon turbinado sugar
Basil to garnish
Combine the butter and 1/2 cup sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, alternatively you can use a handheld mixer. using the paddle cream them together on medium for 2-3 minutes, make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl down as you are mixing. Next add in the eggs one at a time, making sure to mix each in well. Continuing on medium, add in salt, 2 teaspoons cherry liquor, flour, and finally the ground pine nuts. Once everything is fully incorporated, turn off the mixer and fold in the basil leaves. If not using the pine nut cream within 30 minutes, keep in the refrigerator. It can sit in the refrigerator overnight, just make sure to take our a while before finally using.
In a mixing bowl toss the blueberries with 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cherry liquor. in another bowl, combine the plums with the rest of the sugar and liquor. Pour the pine nut mixture into the tart shell, spread evenly around using a rubber spatula. Spread the plums and blueberries around the tart. I held some back because as the tart bakes the fruit will sink into pine nut cream. I like the add some additional fruit in the middle of the baking.
Place the tart on a sheet tray and bake on 35-40 minutes, turn halfway through the baking time and top with the rest of the fruit and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. If the center is still not set, turn the oven down to 350 and bake at 5 minute increments until set. The tart will be golden brown. Garnish with torn basil.
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