(NEW) PLUM, NECTARINE & BRANDY TART, WITH CANDIED GINGER, vegan-option, wallet-friendly'ish, fresh fruit, versatile

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Fit for a special occasion...or just a bang-up Sunday lunch

A fresh fruit tart with brandy & ginger syrup that's a magnificent mouthful,
here with drizzle icing but could come with toasted flaked almonds or ice cream 

'Sensational!' 'The brandy was just right' not too much and not too little.' Tasters

This gorgeous French-style fruit tart is easier than it looks.  And, with both ripen-at-home plums and nectarines currently on special offers, it needn't cost the earth.

The plum & nectarine tart looks gloriously autumnal and was perfect for a late garden party.  It went down a storm.  

It's pretty simple to put together, whether you make your own pastry or buy an all-butter supermarket version, and you can always ask the kids or a guest to help cut and lay out the fruit.

67 didn't have the time to make pastry but if time had been available would have thrown together Candice Brown's Easy-Peasy Special Occasion Sweet Pastry. 

Instead, M&S' all-butter puff pastry was used (£2./25 for 320gms) mainly because it doesn't have to be defrosted and came in just the right size ...roughly 10 x 12 inches.  Waitrose's frozen all-butter pastry (which 67 has used before quite happily) is cheaper at £2 and comes in two 200gm sheets but does need planning.  For vegans, butter free puff pastry is readily available.

67 liked the combination of plums and nectarines because they provide a lovely colour palette but you can certainly have all plums or all nectarines if you'd like.  

67's plums were not as sweet as they could be.  Ice cream would have been the perfect accompaniment but white drizzled icing also did the trick and looked rather sophisticated.

Cost: £5.50 (2021), if buying pastry, less if you make your own

Makes: 20 squares for a crowd; 6-8 portions for a family

Ingredients:

A sheet of unbaked puff pastry 10" x 12"

5 decent-sized plums

3nectarines

2 tablespoons brandy (opt; replace with grape juice)

3 tablespoons ground almonds or breadcrumbs

scant 1/4 cup soft brown or white sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons juice from a jar of ginger in syrup

3 to 4 balls of ginger

Garnish with either:

Ice Cream

icing of drizzling consistency 

OR toasted flaked almonds

Method:

Start a couple of hours before baking

1. Cut plums in half vertically, remove stone; cut each half into eight wedges
2. Cut nectarines in half vertically, remove stone; cut each half into eight wedges
3. Place each in a separate bowl and drizzle with brandy; stir gently; leave at least an hour
4. Roll out the pastry on the paper provided; refrigerate until ready to use.
5. When ready to prepare for baking, preheat oven to 200C/400F
6. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper or a silicone mat; place in oven to pre-heat; a hot pan will encourage pastry bottom to crisp up nicely
7. Take pastry out of fridge; leaving a thin border cover the centre lightly with ground almonds/breadcrumbs to soak up any juices from the fruit (preventing a soggy bottom!)
8. Drain fruit, keeping plums and nectarines separate; dab with paper towels to remove excess moisture
9. Using a pattern of two plum slices and one nectarine slice, cover the pastry in four vertical lines; as evenly as possible, lightly sprinkle sugar over the fruit
10. Bake in centre of oven 40 to 45 minutes, turning the tray once; watch that the fruit doesn't blacken on the edges.
11. Chop ginger balls finel, keeping pieces as separate as possible  
12. Remove tart from oven and place on a cooling rack 
13. Brush fruit immediately with ginger syrup and scatter over pieces of ginger
14. Gently slide tart from pan to cooling rack; unless serving warm with ice cream, cool completely 
15. For a crowd, cut each vertical strip into 5 pieces; place each piece in a flattened muffin case for ease of access

Plum Nectarine Tart Slices for a Garden Party
(with (Not Giant) Spicy Crescent Cookies)

16.  For a lunch or dinner, cut into 6-8 portions

17.  Serve with icing sugar drizzle, ice cream or toasted almonds

COMMENTS:

'Wow!  Really sensational; the flavours were so unexpected but in all the right ways.'

'I really liked the dessert; the brandy was just right - not too much and not too little.' Garden party guests

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This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.