Do you guys remember when I stopped by the Martha Stewart headquarters back in January to do some promotional work for my cookbook? Do you? It’s basically all I think about. Still. I stare at the photo of my rotund (read: preggo) self in the lobby almost daily. Call me crazy, but I just want to keep reliving the best day of my life over and over. My Mom and I poured over all of Martha Stewart’s cookbooks while I was growing up. We watched her shows. We read her magazines. We have always been (and still are) Martha-obsessed. So, when Martha Stewart Living asked if I wanted to collaborate again, I screamed YESSSSSS like a kid on Christmas morning! I’m going to be cooking my way through her book Pies and Tarts, and scaling the recipes down for two. Is this my real life? What exactly do I do for a living? Can you go to college for this? After drooling over all the recipes, I had a hard time choosing which recipe to start with. If you have any requests, please leave me a comment below and I’ll get to work! I ultimately chose this plum tart because plums are one of my favorite things about summertime. See, I actually love prunes (gasp!), and I eat them all year long. So, when fresh plums come into season, I put down the dried ones and gobble up as many fresh ones as I can. I’m partial to the black ones with ruby flesh. I mean, who wouldn’t want to eat a crimson plum? I believe these are called Satsuma plums, but correct me if I’m wrong.
The tart dough is a half-recipe for pate brisee is simple to pull together, promise. It’s all-butter richness is exactly what plums love.
While it’s hard to tell from the photos, there’s a secret filling underneath the plums. I finely ground almonds with sugar and flour to tuck beneath the fruit before baking. As the fruit bakes, the almond mixture mingles with the fruit juices and makes its own custard-like filling. It’s one of those small, almost effortless steps that elevates your dessert to something oh so fancy.
I always take a deep breath and hold it when I slide a pie into the oven.
Happy Summer, friends!
