italian dessert recipes

Italian Plum Tart

Marsala and Spices MAKE THIS TART!


plum tart 01
What makes this Italian plum tart taste so FANTASTIC the kids asked for seconds?


  • muscovado sugar


  • marsala


  • allspice






    • What makes this tart so EASY?

    No special pastry skills needed!

    Italian dessert recipes don't include pies - we have tarts! And tarts mean ONLY one crust layer. In this plum tart recipe, the pastry crust folds around the fruit. You can sculpture whatever shape makes you happy.

    *WHEW* a biggie for me! After living in the midwest for 20 years and hearing the farmers wives discuss tips a tricks of crust during church potluck's, Christmas get-togethers, and in the middle of Walmart - I still have yet to master the technique making mine look appealing.



    Italian Plum Tart



    Yield: One Italian Plum Tart plum tart recipe 02

    Ingredients
    1 3/4 - 2 lbs (900g) fresh plums

    2 Tbsp (25g) butter

    1 tsp ground mixed spice

    1/2 cup (100g) light muscovado sugar ( An absolute MUST!)

    1 orange, finely grated zest

    3 Tbsp marsala

    1 ready-made pie crust pastry OR make your own

    1 egg beaten

    Procedure

     Preheat the oven to 400 F (200C/gas 6/fan 180C).


    * Slice plums in wedges and set aside.

    * Melt butter in a large pan with the spice and muscovado sugar.

    * Slide in plum wedges, add zest and marsala. Stir until the sugar has partially dissolved. Remove from the heat.

    * Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and trim to a rough round shape - at least foot in diameter (30 cm).

    (You don't have to be too neat.)

    * Lift up the pastry (draping over a rolling pin) and transfer to a large baking sheet. It will be too big, with a lot hanging over the edges. That's OK.

    * Pile the plums and their juices over the middle of pastry

    * Take overhanging pastry and place over the fruit - leave a big hole in the middle for the steam can escape.

    * Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle sugar over the top of egg wash

    * Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden.



    Italian Plum Tart Substitutions and Questions



    What is muscovado sugar ?


    It's a "moist sugar," that is imported from the Philippines. And yes, I realize it's not an Italian product. Within any culture there is some importing - and let's allow ourselves this imported sugar to flavor this tart.

    This sugar is a bit coarser and stickier than most brown sugars. It has a reasonably long shelf life - so you can use it again. It's actually tasty in coffee! You can swap it out in any recipe calling for brown sugar too (slightly reducing the liquid content). SO don't feel it's a waste of money if you buy it with the intention of making this plum tart.

    Can I add nuts?


    Sure! I adapted this recipe from spicy tart recipe on bbcgoodfood, and it does call for nuts. I had every intention of putting them in, but I was in a hurry making a Friday night dinner after a long work week and this plum tart was the, "Oh yeah I need dessert" idea. And y-i-i-i-kes....I totally forgot!


    So, in keeping the tart Italian, let's stick with nuts used most Italian dessert recipes:

  • Measure scant 1/3 cup (50g) ground almonds or walnuts


  • Sprinkle the ground almonds or walnuts over the pastry to within 1/4 inch(7cm)of the edges then add plums on tops


    • Frozen crust or make my own crust?


    plum tart 03 This original recipe called for custard and other UGH stuff I didn't want to deal with. ONE being, a ready made frozen crust. Totally gross in my opinion. Hate 'em.

    So in my purist food snob mode, I attempted my own crust in the middle of kid-chaos and the end of a long work week. It looked UNFLATTERING but tasted awesome. No regrets in trying. I will try again because I think frozen crusts taste like everything they sit next to in the freezer.

    NOTE: To make your own tart crust use a traditional pie crust recipe - and halve it. For tips on working with a pie crust - there are TONS of You Tube videos and many sites to walk you through. But you already knew that, right?

    More Plum Recipes



    Back to this Plum Tart recipe.


    In this sangria recipe, I substituted plums for the traditional citrus fruits. I had so many plums on hand. The best recipes are the traditional ones and I used this recipe for the pitcher in the photo. If you look close enough you may be able to tell the pitcher has plums.

    Best Sangria Recipe - with a plums!

    Fresh Fruit Recipes

    Don't let fresh fruit cooking scare you. There are some fantastic Italian dessert recipes (and sangrias) that use fresh fruit as the key ingredient.



    Lisa Gianotti Superbowl Sunday is coming up! The best Italian Dessert Recipes for a party like this are ones that are:

    FAST

    Finger Foodish (not big hunky sticky globs of gooey-ness that get on your furniture)

    And freeze-aheads

    A couple of my favs for this are Cappucino Cookies (lots like choc chips but with a twist)

    Anisette Cookies (Always on the top 5)

    Rum Balls (Gingersnaps and Rum)

    Let's not for get the drinks to go with the beer that will be present! Check out my Italian drinks section for that.

    Lisa


    Would you like to share this page? You know how to do it! Thanks for sharing the sugar love!


    Recipes on this site are from family cookbooks, family traditions, or intentional adaptations from traditional recipes to add an Italian flair. If a recipe was adapted or used from another cook - it is mentioned on the recipe page and the recipe author is given credit.