This easy rustic plum tart recipe starts with a flaky cream cheese pastry dough, followed by a plum-almond filling topped with apricot preserves. It's really an open-face pie that exists in almost every culture. This was my grandmother's way of treating us to dessert while she juggled a million other tasks, including washing and cooking for boarders.
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Makes 1 (9-inch) Rustic Plum Tart
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- Pastry Dough:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- .
- Filling:
- 1 pound plums (not the Italian prune plum variety), washed, pitted and quartered
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
- 6 ounces (1/2 can) almond filling
- 6 ounces (1/2 can) apricot filling or preserves
- Melted butter
- Coarse sugar
Preparation:
- Mix cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add flour gradually and mix well. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over plums, coating well. Mix breadcrumbs with plums.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. When dough is chilled, roll a circle 1/4-inch thick and 12 inches in diameter on a surface that has been dusted with equal parts confectioners' and granulated sugars (not flour). Trim circle with a pastry cutter or pizza wheel so edges are not ragged.
- Leaving a 2-inch border of untouched dough, spread almond filling over. Top with plums followed to by apricot filling. Using these steps for making Rustic Strawberry Tart, begin lifting the untouched dough toward the center, pleating as necessary to create a 9-inch round. The edge will partially cover the filling which is perfect.
- Brush edges of tart with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar.Bake 30 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbling. Cool on pan for at least 5 minutes before cutting and serving. May also be served at room temperature. Accompany with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream, if desired.
