As a kid I never liked plums, they’re sour, tangy and why would I want to torture my myself for that little bit of sweet flesh within. Just not worth it. But as I grew older, with my fathers persistence and evolving taste buds, I began to accept the fruit. Not that I’m crazy about plums, but when in season I do have some. The past two days have been very gloomy and the rains have been pouring like there’s no tomorrow. Weather like this either makes you want to eat or sleep. So yesterday my friend invited me to her place for some hot tea (which is perfect in this weather) and steaming hot Sabudana Wada’s ( sago and potato croquets) and also to see the new furniture she had bought. She just renewed the entire dining area with beautiful oak furniture pieces. The dining table could easily sits six people and on the walls there were matching oak drawers that would be perfect for buffets. You can click here to get an idea of the type of furniture I’m talking about. And as usual I found myself wandering into her kitchen and rummaging her fridge. That’s when I saw a lovely bowl of plums sitting right in front of me and realised the season has slipped by n I still haven’t eaten any plums. So this afternoon, I ran to the market hoping I’d get some, and lucky I was. The fruit vendor said, there were the last of the season. On my way back I already knew what I wanted to make. My Plum Pistachio n Cardamon Cake is usually a safe bet and always turns out great. Today I wanted Tart. A nice frangipani filled centre with these sweet and tangy plums on top. Just make sure the plums aren’t too tart and if they are toss them in Vanilla Sugar and leave them till they turn sweet. For the tart shell use this recipe. It makes 2 tart shells of 13″ X 4″ For the filling 170 gms Almonds ( blanched, dried and ground to a fine paste ) 150 gms caster sugar 150 gms butter (softened to room temperature ) 2 medium sized eggs 7-8 plums stoned and sliced 3 tablespoons vanilla sugar Start with getting the tart shells ready. You could do this a day before. For the filling, blanch the almonds, remove the skin, dry the nuts and grind them. Beat together the icing sugar and butter till light and airy. Add the ground almonds and the eggs one by one. Give the mixture a good mix and put it in the fridge to cool for about 30 mins. In the mean time, stone the plums, slice them and toss them in Vanilla sugar. This should take away the tartness. Preheat the oven to 160C. Spoon the filling into the tart shells evenly and arrange the plums on top. Bake for about 40 mins. Thesides should be golden and centre should be set , but if its slightly wobbly don’t worry, it will firm up on cooling. Garnish with some slivers of pistachio and serve with some lovely vanilla ice-cream. Say I love you 慢如 Love is you and me 醉亦醒時醒亦醉 何時得到你的一笑傾城
