Plum Perfection

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C / 180°C for fan assisted/ Gas 6
2. Unroll the pastry sheet and line a tart tin, approximately 20cm in diameter.
3. Line the pastry with foil or greaseproof paper, fill with baking beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 180C (160C fan), Gas 5.
4. Scatter the ground almonds over base of pastry tart case. Place the sliced plums in a freezer bag with the sugar and shake well to coat.
5. Arrange the plums in a circular pattern in tart case, starting from the outside and working your way to the middle. The skin should be facing upwards.
6. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the plums have softened.
7. Allow to stand in the tin for 15 minutes before carefully transferring to a serving plate.
8. Serve warm or cold with a generous dollop of crème fraiche.

Tips

• Take the pastry out of the fridge and remove from the packaging approximately 10 minutes before you are ready to use it, as it will be easier to work with.
• Delicious eaten hot, or cold!
• The ground almonds will soak up some of the delicious plum juices which will help keep the pastry base crisp – no-one wants a ‘soggy bottom’!
• For an impressive finish, you can heat up some fruit jam, pass it through a sieve, add a little boiling water so it isn’t too thick and then carefully brush the glossy syrup over the plums!
• Par-baking the pastry case helps to give it a lovely crisp base!