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Cakes & Tortes · Recipe No. 173

Almond Plum Tart

A sweet, rich, moist almond and plum tart from Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Kitchen, with a crisp crust and a baklava-like center.

3 min read
Almond plum tart

Almond plum tart by Jamie O.

Super sweet, super rich and super delicious tart. If you like almonds and sweet, moist cakes, you will definitely love it. The outside is a crisp crust, while the center lives its own sweet life. Its texture and flavor remind me a bit of baklava. I don't recommend this cake to anyone who isn't a big fan of very sweet baked goods.

The preparation itself isn't complicated, but you do need to set aside some time. The base can be made a day ahead, though.

almond plum tart

The recipe comes from Jamie Oliver's book "Jamie's Kitchen."

Ingredients:

(makes about 8-10 servings/one 28 cm tart pan)

Shortcrust pastry:

  • 125 g butter
  • 100 g powdered sugar
  • a pinch of salt
  • 250 g all-purpose flour
  • seeds from half a vanilla bean
  • zest of ½ lemon
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1-2 tbsp ice-cold milk or water

Almond filling:

  • 350 g ground blanched almonds
  • 300 g butter
  • 300 g superfine sugar
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 handful of shelled pistachios
  • 6-7 large plums, pitted (I used about 12 Italian prune plums)
  • 3 tbsp vanilla sugar

Make the dough:

Mix the butter, powdered sugar and salt together well. Add the flour, vanilla, lemon zest and egg yolks and mix. As soon as the ingredients start to clump into crumbs, add the milk or water and mix briefly, just until you have a smooth dough. Roll the dough into a log, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. After that, cut the dough into thin slices and use them to line the tart pan. Put it back in the refrigerator for at least another hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Lay a sheet of parchment paper over the dough and fill it with dried peas or beans (or lentils, if you like) to weigh the dough down so it doesn't puff up while baking. Bake for about 12 minutes.

Make the almond filling:

Cream the butter with the sugar until fluffy. Add it to the almonds together with the eggs and mix everything thoroughly until you get a delicate batter. Add the pistachios and put the filling in the refrigerator so it thickens a little. Spread the filling over the crust, being careful that it doesn't come up higher than about 3/4 of the way, because once the plums go in, the filling may bubble over while baking.

Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Toss the plum halves with the vanilla sugar and let them sit for 10 minutes, then press them into the almond filling. Put the tart in the oven and bake for about an hour, until the almond filling is quite deeply browned on top but still soft and moist inside. Take the tart out of the oven and let it cool for about ½ hour. It's best served with vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche.

Enjoy!

Additional tips:

  • After baking, you can brush the hot crust with egg white and put it back in the oven for 30 seconds so the egg white sets. This keeps the moist filling from soaking into the crust.

  • Keep in mind that the less you mix and knead shortcrust pastry, the more tender it will be. Shortcrust pastry that has been worked for a long time also tends to shrink during baking.

I'm submitting this recipe to the "Tarts in Every Way" event at Durszlak and at Mikser kulinarny.