Rustic Plum Tart

Here is a comforting tart, adapted from Epicurious making use of the prune plums available in the Fall, but one that can be varied with other fruit such as apples and pears all year round.

I used more plums and so I have adjusted a few of the ingredients listed in the original recipe.

Crust
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 T. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3 T. ice water

Topping
2 lbs. plums, halved, pitted and cut into wedges
6 T. sugar
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 T. flour
2 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, beaten for glaze

1/4 c. apricot jam

Blend flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and turn machine on and off until mixture looks like coarse meal. Remove mixture to a medium sized bowl. Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, blending quickly with a fork, until the mixture just comes together as a dough. This may take more than 3 T. but will depend on the flour used. Be careful not to add too much water or the pastry will be tough. Gather dough into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Toss plums, 4 T. sugar, cloves and cinnamon in a bowl. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12 1/2″ round. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Mix 1 T. sugar and 1 1/2 T. flour in a small bowl; sprinkle over dough, leaving a 2″ plain border. Arrange plums in concentric circles on dough, leaving 2″ border; drizzle with melted butter. Fold dough in toward the centre. Brush border with egg glaze and sprinkle with 1T. sugar. Bake tart until plums are tender and crust is golden, about 45 minutes.

Stir jam in a saucepan, or place in microwave, to melt. Brush over plums. Cool tart 1 hour on baking sheet. Using a tart pan bottom, transfer tart to a serving plate.
Makes 6 servings.