Friday, September 23, 2011

Rustic Plum Tart with Cornmeal Shortbread Crust

This easy tart takes no longer to make than a crisp with its simple pat-in-the-pan crust. Red or purple plums are best here from a visual perspective, but pick any that you like. At some point I'm going to try this with strawberries and rhubarb, which I think would be awesome with this crust. Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream if at all possible.


Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg yolk
1-2 Tbsp cream or milk

Topping
6-8 medium plums, quartered (use more or less depending on size)
1 Tbsp sugar
A sprinkling of cinnamon
1 tsp butter, in slices

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9-10 inch tart pan or the bottom of a similar size pie pan.

To make the crust, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse for 10 seconds or so to combine. Add the egg yolk and process until the mixture has a sandy consistency. Add cream or milk, a little at a time, until the mixture just comes together and becomes workable. Press the dough into the buttered pan in a more-or-less even layer, going just slightly up the sides.

Cover the crust with the plums, crowding them in close. Sprinkle the plums with sugar and cinnamon and dot with butter.

Bake for 30-for minutes, until the crust is golden brown and no longer soft and the fruit has softened and become juicy.

Serve warm or room temperature, preferably topped with whipped cream.

Serves about 6.

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