Greetings food adventurers! Today we visit the royal palace in Caemlyn (Wheel of Time), where the beloved Queen Morgase reigns over the land of Andor. Her daughter Elayne Trakand is known for her love of sweets, and the palace kitchens are often happy to indulge her. Today’s special dessert is an Almond Custard Plum Tart, as delicious as it is beautiful. The cooks work floral designs into the desserts as often as possible since the realm’s symbol is a rose.

The palace’s plum trees are heavy with fruit, warm in the sun, and we can smell their perfume wafting over the stone walls as we approach. We are heading for the guard-house today. The kitchen is making extras and we were invited to share a plum tart with the off-duty guards in exchange for some games of dice.

This show-stopper dessert is a time consuming one but well worth the effort. The base is a short crust pastry, topped with frangipane (fancy almond custard), and decorated with plums. Variations are excellent too – I have also made this with hazelnut frangipane and topped it with a spiral of very thinly sliced apples for an autumn version.

Adapted from Emma Duckworth Bakes.

Almond Custard Plum Tart

Shortcrust pastry filled with almond custard (frangipane) and topped with fresh plums and thyme.

5 from 1 vote

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Course Dessert

Cuisine Andoran, Wheel of Time

Servings 12 slices

Equipment

• Large bowl
• Plastic wrap
• Rolling Pin
• 9" fluted tart tin with removable base
• Sharp knife
• Parchment paper
• Pie weights for blind baking
• Stand mixer with paddle attachment

Ingredients

  

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Shortcrust dough:

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
• ⅓ cup powdered sugar
• ½ tsp table salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter cut into small cubes. (very cold!)
• 1 large egg beaten
• 1- 2 tbsp water (very cold)
• 1 egg for egg wash
• 1 tsp milk for egg wash

Frangipane filling:

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup almond meal / ground almonds (note: this is NOT almond flour)
• ½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• ½ tsp table salt
• 6- 8 fresh plums any type
• 1 tbsp honey
• fresh thyme leaves

Instructions

 

Short crust pastry:

• Sift the flour, powdered sugar, and salt into a large bowl.
• Add the lemon zest and the cold, cubed butter into the flour and rub the butter and flour together between your fingers until it resembles a bread crumb consistency with a few pea-sized pieces of butter still visible. (Do not overwork the dough, this makes tough pastry!)
• Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in your egg.
• Using a fork, mix the egg into the flour.
• Add 1 Tbsp ice-cold water and use your hands to bring the dough together. Add more water sparingly if needed.
• Tip the pastry onto a lightly floured work surface. Use floured hands to shape pastry into a ball taking care not to overwork the dough.
• Flatten slightly into a disc and wrap well in plastic wrap. REFRIGERATE FOR AT LEAST 1 HOUR. (The resting time is very important)
• Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge and transfer it to a clean, lightly floured surface. Allow pastry to sit for about 10 minutes or so to soften slightly. (Trying to roll pastry that is too cold will cause the edges to crack.)
• To roll out, lightly flour your countertop and rolling pin and using firm, even strokes, roll from the center outward, turning the pastry a quarter turn every few strokes. Roll the pastry out to the thickness of a coin (⅛” thick) and into a 12" circle.
• Flour the base of a 9" deep fluted tart tin and gently lift the pastry and place into the prepared tin. Use a small ball of extra dough from the edges to push the pastry into the grooves along the edge of the tin.
• Using a sharp knife, trim off the excess pastry from the tin.
• Place the prepared pastry shell IN THE FRIDGE FOR AT LEAST 1 HOUR to allow the pastry to relax. (Optional: wrap the pastry well in plastic wrap and place in the fridge OVERNIGHT. Cold is very important!)
• Preheat your oven to 350°F.
• Prick the cold pastry base all over with a fork and then line with parchment paper and fill with pie weights all the way up the sides.
• Blind bake for 15 minutes, then very carefully remove the paper and pie weights.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk to form your egg wash. Brush the base of the pastry with egg wash and return the pastry back to the oven and bake for an additional 7-10 minutes or until the base is dry and a light golden color.
• Remove from the oven and leave the tart base to cool while you make the filling. Keep the oven on.

Frangipane filling:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest together on medium speed for 5 minutes until pale. (Creaming the sugar and butter well incorporates air and makes for a lighter frangipane.)
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl every so often.
• Add the almond meal, flour, salt, vanilla and almond extract and mix until combined. Pour the frangipane filling into the tart shell and spread out evenly.

Decorate and bake:

• Thinly slice the plums, keeping the peel intact. (discard the pits)
• Starting from the OUTSIDE EDGE and working your way in, place your plum slices, next to one another, spiraling in on top of the filling.
• Place the tart back in the oven and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes, until the filling has set and is golden brown.

Before serving:

• Remove the tart from the oven and brush the plums with honey warmed in the microwave for a couple of seconds. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.

Notes

To Store: Wrap cooled Plum Tart in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.  It is really best fresh.

To Freeze: You can freeze your Tart after baking it and letting it cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and then foil and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Apple Hazelnut Variation: Substitute the almond meal with hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts). Peel, core and slice 3 apples and toss in lemon juice to stop them from browning before laying them onto the filling.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!