Marthas Plum Dessert Recipes

Steps:

• Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt several times to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces remaining. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. (If needed, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Do not overmix.
• Turn dough out onto a floured work surface; knead once or twice. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Flour a large (about 16 inches long) piece of parchment paper. Place dough on paper. Using your knuckles, press edges of dough so it doesn't crack during rolling. Lightly flour top of dough to prevent sticking; roll out to a 14-inch round. Transfer dough (still on parchment) to prepared baking sheet.
• Make the filling and bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together plums, sugar, and flour. Mound plum mixture in center of prepared crust, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Fold border over fruit in a pleated pattern. Brush dough with egg wash.
• Bake tart until crust is brown and filling is bubbling (see note), about 45 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a rack; let cool 20 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-inch square cake pan or 10-inch cast iron skillet with 2 tablespoons butter; set aside. Whisk together flour, 3/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, allspice, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Whisk together egg, milk, vanilla, and remaining 4 tablespoons butter in another medium bowl. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir to combine. Spread batter evenly into buttered pan.
• Toss plums, nectarines, lemon juice, remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Spread fruit mixture evenly over batter. Sprinkle with topping. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 1 hour before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch ovenproof skillet(preferably cast-iron); dust with flour, tapping out excess.Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and1/2 teaspoon salt. Beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar with a mixeron medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg. Addflour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk.
• Pour batter into prepared skillet, and smooth topwith an offset spatula. Fan plums on top, and sprinkle withremaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until goldenbrown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes outclean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Generously butter six 3 1/2-cup ovenproof bowls. Place one nectarine half, cut side down, in the center of each bowl. Arrange 8 plum halves, cut sides facing up, around each nectarine half. Sprinkle each bowl with 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar. Dot fruit with butter.
• Place bowls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until fruit is juicy and softened, about 30 minutes. Transfer bowl to a wire rack to cool.
• To serve, place a large scoop of ice cream in each bowl. Top each with a crisp puff pastry top. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-by-2-inch or a 9-inch cake pan and line bottom with a round of parchment. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated; beat in vanilla and lemon zest. Beat in half the flour mixture, then sour cream. Add remaining flour mixture; mix just until combined.
• Spread batter into pan and smooth top with a knife. In a bowl, toss plums with 2 tablespoons flour and sprinkle over batter.
• Bake until cake is golden, about 30 minutes; loosely tent with foil and bake until cake pulls away from side of pan and a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes more. Let cake cool completely in pan. Run knife around cake edge and remove cake from pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a 9 1/2-by-13 1/2-inch rimmed baking sheet (quarter sheet pan) with parchment, leaving a 2-inch over-hang on long sides.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an approximately 14 1/2-by-11 1/2-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Trim edges so you're left with a 14-by-11-inch rectangle. Fit into sheet (dough should come all the way up sides without an overhang). Freeze 15 minutes.
• Stir together fruit, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt; arrange mixture in tart shell, in a single, slightly overlapping layer (if using a variety of colors of fruit, arrange by color if desired).
• Bake 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375° and continue baking, rotating sheet twice, until fruit is bubbling and pastry is puffed and cooked through, 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes (if pastry is browning too quickly, tent with foil; if middle puffs up during baking, remove sheet from oven, use scissors to snip a little hole in puffed-up spot, and return to oven).
• Let cool completely in sheet on a wire rack. Use parchment overhangs to remove before cutting into pieces to serve. Tart can be stored at room temperature, covered loosely with foil, up to 1 day.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, oats, and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until coarse crumbs form.
• In a shallow 2-quart baking dish, toss plums with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon flour; sprinkle with oat topping. Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until topping is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the frangipane: In the bowl of a food processor, combine butter and sugar. Process until smooth. Add eggs, salt, and almond extract. Pulse to combine. Add almond and all-purpose flours, and process until a fine paste forms. Set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll pate sucree dough into a 12-inch circle. Fit circle into a 10-inch tart tin with a removable bottom, being careful not to stretch dough too thin. Spread 3 tablespoons jam into bottom of lined tart tin.
• Transfer frangipane to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch tip. Pipe evenly over jam. Arrange plum wedges over frangipane in a circular pattern, closely overlapping wedges and completely covering frangipane. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake until crust is golden and plums are cooked through and beginning to caramelize, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool.
• In a small saucepan, melt remaining 3 tablespoons jam. Brush evenly over cooled tart. Serve at room temperature.