PLUM TART WITH MASCARPONE CREAM
Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 11:32AM 
There was a piece in Sunset magazine from writer Anne Lamott awhile back, and I was redirected to it recently from Orangette. Anne Lamott is a great writer, I have read a couple of her books, and appreciate how she makes points with both humility and humor. The line that struck me the most was "Time is not free - that's why it is so precious and worth fighting for". I make plans with my sister-in-law months in advance, or start discussing a date for a dinner with friends weeks before it's a reality, but isn't that how time goes? We fill it up in trying to get the most out of it, and then end up a bit drained. I just think you should read the article, it will mean something.
I've been envisioning this tart for awhile now, after seeing the posts from the two ladies mentioned below. Hugh shakes his head when we do a post over something I haven't ever made before (which is actually pretty frequent). It is time consuming, especially at the moment while both of us have pretty full plates, but I took a chance. The crust is great, with a nice crunch of cornmeal, and not so much butter than you feel a bit of guilt with each bite. The plums are sweet, barely tart, with some nice texture from not being cooked much at all. Then there's the filling, which may have turned out a bit gooey on first run (I made changes below, don't fret!), but it tastes quite nice. We started this blog as a creative outlet - a place for both of us to collaborate on things we enjoy, food and pictures. The moment it becomes solely about perfect food and a perfect story and mass traffic, I'll have lost sight of why we started doing this in the first place. I love sharing this space, am grateful for relationships I've started and opportunities that have come from it, but every now and then, the tart turns out a little gooey, alright? We ate it anyway, cause time is precious, and if you're waiting for everything to be perfect... you're going to be doing a lot of waiting. Cheers.
PLUM TART WITH MASCARPONE CREAM
With influence from Not Without Salt and Beyond The Plate
As mentioned, the first time around I used honey and cream to thin out the mascarpone, which was unnecessary once it went back in the oven. Even if you want to play around with the sweetener, just make sure it is a dry one, as things melt during its second trip to the oven.
1/2 Cup Cornmeal
1 Cup White Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tbsp. Natural Cane Sugar
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
4 Tbsp. Cold Butter or Coconut Oil
2-3 Tbsp. Ice Cold Water
4 Ripe Plums
1 Tbsp. Tequila
Bit of Orange Zest
1/2 Cup Mascarpone, room temperature
2 Tbsp. Muscavado or Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Walnuts
2 Tbsp. Turbinado Sugar
1. The crust can be done in a processor, or by hand with a pastry cutter. For the processor, put all the dry ingredients in the bowl and give them a quick pulse to combine. Cut the cold butter into cubes, add it to the processor and give it a few more pulses so there are little pea size flecks of butter. Add the cold water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until the crust just begins to hold together (Alternatively, you can cut the butter into the flour mix with a pastry cutter, and add the water 1 Tbsp. at a time as well). Press the dough in an even layer, into a 11x5 rectangular tart pan and put it in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 400'. Bake the crust on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes until golden on the edges, remove to cool.
3. While the crust cools, cut the plum into thin slices and gently toss it in the tequila. In another bowl, mix the mascarpone with the honey. Chop up the walnuts pretty fine (you can use the processor, but I hate washing that thing), mix them in a bowl with the turbinado.
4. Set the oven to 475'. On the cool crust, spread the mascarpone cream, drain the plums if needed then layer them nicely on top of the mascarpone. Lastly, sprinkle the walnut turbinado mix across the top. With a rack in the upper third, bake it another 5 minutes just to toast the top. Put it back in the fridge to cool and set the cream. Eat it!


Reader Comments (50)
Beautiful... I love what you said about time and blogs. It's always a nice reminder to see time correctly-- as precious and not free. Beautiful and inspiring tart, even if a bit gooey! Sounds delicious. And thank you for sharing the thoughts
Beautiful tart, beautiful words. Life is too short for perfection.
So much good stuff lies in the imperfection. I revel in it. This tart is super beautiful.
Gooey tarts have their place at the dining table, right next to grown-up, crispy tarts :) I just read Anne's article as well, a very timely reminder. Lovely pics as always! xx
Dang, those images are just stunning. Funny thing is, I've got that Anne Lamott article open in the next tab. Trying to weave together all these ideas of time, value, and taking care of ourselves into my next post. :)
I can totally relate to Hugh. I always want to try a recipe at least 200 times before posting it, even though we never have the time. Luise is much more spontaneous. Whenever we have a free day for shooting she wants to change our plans and try something new. It stresses me out. But I agree that it's much more fun when the blog is a place for experimenting, not being perfect all the time. Let's leave that for the cookbook. With that said. Your tart sure looks picture perfect anyway.
That is so beautiful I just went blind.
true dat :).
It looks perfect! And I agree, with so little time and so many recipes to try, it's worth taking a risk! ;-)
Beautiful tart and such lovely words to go along with it. I admire your endeavors in the kitchen and on this blog, and your openness about it all. Perfection is an elusive pursuit, better to appreciate things for what they are. I'm off to read Ms. Lamott's article!
I know exactly what you mean about time and planning. I'm a big planner and I am also very committed to my friends and my family (not to mention my website!) but sometimes I feel like filling up all of my time 'doing stuff' actually makes it go by so much faster. Sometimes I hardly have time to appreciate it. I do love Anne Lamott. I, too, read the piece, trying to remind myself to leave a little time. xoxo
What a great quote and reminder about time...I'm heading to the article now!
I'm currently obsessed with a tart crust (savory) that has cornmeal in it - a blind baked one is cooling on my counter as I type. I should have used whole wheat flour! Doh! Love the look of this, I always overlook plums as I say goodbye to nectarines and hello to apples and pears. I love them out of hand, so why not in a dessert? Doh again. Also, we all come here to read about your creativity and your sweet life and if it was all perfect, I don't think you would have as many fans.
Looks delicious. I was literally just telling a friend the other day that I want to bake something with plums. This just might be the perfect recipe. :)
This I have to try - however, as it is spring here and no plums are even THINKING about growing on the trees (still in blossom stage) would this work if I substitute fresh rhubarb instead? I will give it a whorl and see!
Wow, this looks amazing! These are my favourite types of desserts, I just love using fresh fruit.. Thank you for sharing this! :)
oh my. BACK. BACK AWAY FROM THE TART.
actually no. i will eat the entire thing. with pleasure.
Crazy gorgeous photos and words. Again. Time is well spent visiting your blog.
@Bluefruit - I would not call it a substitute, cause the fruit here is only cooked for 5 minutes, and that wouldn't taste so great with rhubarb. You could cook it down, sweeten it a bit and put it as the fruit layer but, don't directly swap in rhubarb for plum ;)
Stop waiting, start doing it, even if things turn out to be gooey - cheers indeed, your're absolutely right. A great tart and so ture words...
This is just what I needed to read this morning. Thanks, S.
I adore Anne Lamott! I read that article awhile ago, but thanks for reminding me of it. It deserves a re-read!
That looks incredible. I can't wait to try it; I'm quite partial to gooey tarts :)
Oh, I made a tart with a cornmeal/whole wheat crust the other day and it was amazing! I'm all for a little imperfection :)
damn you. even your pits are pretty.
Love this post Sara! Beautifully put! There is so much to savor during the process of creating. And time can't go backwards so we need to make the time for things that are important. Funny thing, my sister & I weeks & months in advance too. I've read a bit of the article on Sunset. Going to finish it up and make plans to try this tart! ;) Thanks for sharing!
Oh my what a nice tart, I especially like your mold. The Tequila must give it such a unique twist. Great pics!
lovely post and lovely tart!
this looks amazing!
How beautiful! I love tartes...
OMG! That looks phenomenal!
i have a plum tart in the oven (with an oat and maple syrup crust) and when it is ready to eat i am certainly going to have some mascarpone on the side of my plate. thank you for the inspiration!
it looks delicious! beautiful as well...
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wow, what a beautiful and inspirational post! thank you. I made a plum torte earlier this week (using Marian Burros infamous recipe for the NYTimes) and I still have a lot of leftover little Italian Prune Plums and I'd like to put them to good use, ie bake them until bubbly and gooey and delicious. Do you think they would work equally as well as the larger ones that you used? Note to self: buy beautiful rectangular tart pan!
I have been dreaming of plum tarts recently. I've never actually made one. This one looks exquisite, I love the sound of mascarpone and plums! Yum!!
I've been dreaming of plum tarts recently, I've never actually made one. This one looks exquisite, I love the sound of mascarpone and plums together. Yum!!
Now I really regret not having bought plums at the farmer's market on Thursday. Wonder how this tart would taste with peaches (which I'm canning whole and turning into butter today) maybe with brandy instead of tequila and lemon to replace the orange zest...
[...] Plum Tart with Mascarpone Cream [Sprouted Kitchen] Tequila and orange zest add some extra pizzazz to this gorgeous tart. [...]
Beautiful creations, such a lovely blog.
Yum. I love turning stone fruit into something special and that looks magnificent. I also share your love of Anne Lamott. I read Imperfect Birds not too long ago and it was so well written and moving.
A beautiful, inspired post and recipe, my darling!
I love this - it is just beautiful, I am definitely going to try this! The pictures are beautiful too - I'm drooling!!
Oooh, plums + mascarpone sound sublime. I'm thinking even a quick stew/macerated bowl of the fruit + rich cream would be pretty fine. Thanks for the idea!
Plum tart and Mascarpone cream! Life really couldn’t get any better. I’m gonna try this before the last of the plum is snatched up! Thanks for the beautiful post!
Love your tart as well as the reminder that time is precious-- why wait for perfection (it takes too long and it's pretty impossible to attain anyway, right?!).
A friend just sent me your blog. Love the pics!
I love plums. That looks amazing!
This looks so incredibly delicious! And you've just reminded me to run out and get a rectangle tart pan. Been meaning to do that. :-) Thanks for sharing this.
This looks delicious. I'll definitely try this weekend but I expect mine will not look quite as elegant!