Plum Tart
This party-perfect showpiece recipe is pure simplicity: fresh plums, flour, sugar, butter, salt, and water. Once it cools, free the tart from its springform pan and you’ll have a golden-crusted beauty with a jewel-toned plum center that advertises—in an elegant but low-key way—the wonders of summertime fruit. If you feel your guests need more, serve it with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, salt, zest, and 1/2 cup sugar on low speed, about 30 seconds. Add the butter to the flour mixture and combine on low speed until the mixture resembles small peas. Add the 1/2 cup ice water, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing on low speed for 15 seconds after each addition; the dough should start to clump together in a ball. If it doesn’t, mix about 10 seconds more. If it still looks too dry, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough clumps together. Gently mold the dough into a disk, cover tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
Step 2
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and place it on a lightly floured work surface. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll it into a 1/4-inch-thick circle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan with about 1 1/2 inches of excess all around. To keep the dough from sticking as you roll it, gently lift and rotate it periodically, adding more flour as needed. Carefully drape the dough over the rolling pin and center it over the springform pan.Lightly press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, letting the excess drape over the pan edge. Arrange the plums on the dough pinwheel style, fully covering the bottom of the pan (you may have more than 1 layer of fruit). Sprinkle the plums evenly with the 1 tablespoon sugar. Gently fold the excess dough over the plums, letting creases in the dough develop naturally to fit the pan and leaving a circle of uncovered fruit in the center of the tart.
Step 3
Bake the tart until the top crust looks golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let the tart cool for about 30 minutes on a rack, then remove from pan to serve. Serve either warm or at room temperature.
do it early
Step 4
The dough can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead, or you can freeze it for up to 3 weeks.
tip
Step 5
To reheat the tart, warm it in a preheated 400°F oven for about 10 minutes.
