Vanilla Sugared Plum & Frangipane Tart

My kitchen table is my favourite piece of furniture in the house and probably the county and maybe even the world. We bought it on the run up to our wedding and I still remember how delighted I was when it was placed in situ in our kitchen! Back then it was a little bit lonely with only the two of us sitting at it but now at least three times a day it is busy and full of crumbs! Nothing gives me greater pleasure than cooking for my family & friends, I love the whole celebration of coming together and sharing something that has been made with a bit of passion in the kitchen! I have my friends calling tomorrow for coffee and thought I would make a nice Autumn style tart for them, sure it is August after all!

To make this tart you will need to first make some sweet shortcrust pastry.
To make one pastry case you need;

125g butter
100g icing sugar
Pinch of salt
250g flour
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp cold milk

Cream the butter, icing sugar and salt together then rub in the flour and egg yolks.
When mixture looks like breadcrumbs add the milk to form a dough.
Place onto a piece of clingfilm and pat into a sausage shape.
Chill for an hour.
Once chilled cut slivers of the pastry and pat into an 11 inch tart tin. I never roll out pastry, I find it much easier to do it this way.
Bake blind in a preheated 180 degree oven for 12 minutes.
Leave to cool.

For the filling you will need;

300g ground almonds
300g unsalted butter
300g caster sugar
3 free range eggs, lightly beaten
6 plums, halved and destoned
3tbsp vanilla sugar

Cream the butter and sugar together until creamy.
Add the ground almonds and the eggs and fold in until smooth.
Place in fridge.
Toss the plums in the vanilla sugar and allow to macerate for at least ten minutes.
Pour the frangipane mixture into the pastry case and arrange the plums on top, pressing them down slightly.
Place the tart on a baking tray and bake in a preheated 180 degree oven for an hour or until the filling is firm but still slightly wobbling in the centre.
Allow to cool for an hour before serving with some cream, chat, coffee and laughter! The kitchen table in my house is most definitely the heart of our home, great memories have been made there and am looking forward to creating thousands more!

Thanks for reading!