Summer 2024Almond, lemon and plum tart

by Natasha Brown - owner of Brown’s Cakes

This recipe uses a traditional frangipane combined with lemon zest and lemon curd to create a plum tart with a sharp lemony twist.

Ingredients

For the pastry
150g plain flour
75g cold butter
50g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp ice-cold water

For the frangipane
100g butter
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
55g plain flour
75g ground almonds
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp almond extract

For the filling
2 tbsp lemon curd
4 or 5 plums
2 tsp of honey warmed in the microwave

Begin by making the pastry.

Rub the butter and flour together to create a breadcrumb-like texture, then stir in the icing sugar, followed by the egg, and, lastly, the ice-cold water.

Bring the pastry together to form a dough. Squash it into a flat circle shape, wrap in clingfilm then leave in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

After 30 minutes, roll the pastry into a thin circle and lay it in a flan dish. Push the pastry against the bottom and side, but leave it standing a little over the edge of the dish. This helps prevent the tart shrinking and the excess can be cut away later.

Chill the pastry for another 30 minutes in the fridge.

To make the tart

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) gas mark 4.

Beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy then add the eggs one at a time with a spoonful of flour with each egg to prevent the mixture curdling. Stir in the rest of the flour, ground almonds, lemon zest and almond
extract.

Spread a layer of lemon curd over the base of the tart then smooth the frangipane mixture on top. Cut the plums in half and remove the stones, then slice. Decorate the tart with the plum slices.

Bake in the centre of the oven for approx. 35 minutes, until the tart starts to turn golden brown. Check the tart is cooked by inserting a wooden skewer and checking that it comes out clean. If it’s not baked, keep it in the oven and keep checking every few minutes until done. Once baked, take the tart out of the oven and brush the top with some honey whilst it’s still warm.

The tart can be eaten warm with custard or is lovely at room temperature served with cream. It also keeps well for a couple of days and becomes a little moister and stickier with time.

Enjoy!