Plum-Frangipane Tart with Chocolate

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Another day, another tart! My tart pan has been getting a lot of use lately, and with great results.  This tart was inspired by an overabundance of plums in our CSA box.  I went looking for plum recipes, and when I found this one that combines plums with a buttery crust, chocolate, frangipane, and custard, I knew I had a winner!  Despite all of the different components, this tart was surprisingly easy to pull together.  The crust is prepared in a pan on the stove and then simply pressed into the tart pan - no rolling pin required.  Once the crust chills for an hour or so, it's scattered with chopped chocolate and then topped with an easy almond sauce.  If you have an immersion hand blender, this is the place to use it - way less dirty dishes, and the final dessert doesn't suffer at all from a slightly-less-smooth frangipane.  Once the tart goes in the oven, the chocolate and almond sauce melt together to form a fantastic soft layer on the bottom of the tart.  The top layer is simply sliced plums topped with an easy custard that takes about 30 seconds to whisk together.  The custard is unsweetened because the other components of the dessert are plenty sweet enough.

Overall, the almonds, chocolate, plums, and custard come together to create the perfect tart - sweet, slightly tart, rich, and chocolate-y.  One word of warning - make sure to prepare this when you're having guests over, as the leftovers keep for about a day, two max.  It will stay reasonably fresh at room temperature overnight, but then it starts to go downhill fast.



Plum-Frangipane Tart with Chocolate (adapted from Christie's Corner, original recipe here)
Makes one 9-inch tart

For the crust:
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
Generous pinch of salt
1 cup flour

For the filling:
1-3/4 ounces slivered almonds
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, divided
2 tsp vanilla, divided
3/4 cup heavy cream
4-1/2 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 pound plums

1. Make the crust.  Melt the butter.  Then stir in the sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Add the flour and stir to form a dough.  Once the dough is cool enough to comfortably touch, press it into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.  Place in the fridge and chill until the dough is firm.
2. Make the frangipane.  Place the almonds and sugar in a food processor along with one of the eggs and 1 tsp of the vanilla.  Process until smooth and set aside.  If you have a stick blender, you can also use this to blend the frangipane - it won't get quite as smooth, but the dishes are easier!
3. Make the custard.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining egg and remaining 1 tsp vanilla along with 3/4 cup heavy cream.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
5. Assemble the tart.  Scatter the chocolate over the bottom of the tart crust, and then drizzle with the almond mixture.  Pit the plums, slice them, and then add them to the tart in an even layer.  Pour the custard on top, being careful - you may have more custard than you need depending on the height of your tart pan sides.
6. Place the tart on a baking sheet and then bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees.  Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 35-45 minutes, until browned and set.  Let cool at least slightly before serving, and ideally serve with homemade vanilla ice cream!