Plum Tarts
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 sticks (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 3/4 lb small plums (preferably prune plums), halved and pitted
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Accompaniment: creme fraiche or lightly sweetened sour cream
- Special equipment: 2 (9-inch) tart pans with removable bottoms
- Combine flour, butter, sugar, salt, and zest in a food processor and pulse until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with remainder in small (roughly pea-size) lumps.
- Add yolks and process just until incorporated and mixture begins to clump.
- Turn mixture out onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions.
- Smear each portion once with heel of your hand in a forward motion to help distribute fat.
- Gather together 2 portions of dough and form into a ball; make another ball with other 2 portions.
- Pat out each ball of dough with floured fingertips into a tart pan, in an even 1/4-inch layer on bottom and up sides (about 1/8 inch above rim).
- Chill 30 minutes, or until firm.
- Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl.
- Add plums and lemon juice and toss to coat.
- Let stand, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes, or until juicy.
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Arrange plum halves, skin sides down, in tart shells, overlapping in a rosette pattern (see photo, opposite).
- Halve any remaining plums lengthwise and randomly tuck in between plum halves in tarts.
- Pour all juices from bowl over plums.
- Bake tarts in middle of oven 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375F.
- Cover tarts loosely with foil and bake until plums are tender and juices are bubbling and slightly thickened, 40 to 50 minutes more.
- Brush warm juices in tart over plums.
- (Juices will continue to thicken as tarts cool.)
- Cool tarts completely in pans on a rack.
allpurpose, cold unsalted butter, sugar, salt, lemon zest, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, creme fraiche, removable bottoms
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/plum-tarts-103860 (may not work)