Rustic Plum Tart

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It must be plum season because we got a whole bunch of them this month in our food co-op order*.

Only one problem... No one in the family is a big plum fan. The kids won't touch them. Katie doesn't care for them, and I'll eat them if there's nothing else around. However, I didn't want them to go to waste, so I decided to try baking with them.

During my time living in Germany, I often had Pflaumkuchen and quite liked it. I even tried making it once when Katie and I were newlyweds. I didn't think it was that bad. However, Katie didn't care for it, and I haven't made it again in the twenty years since.

I needed to try something new. I decided to wing it and combine a few things I'd seen on TV and make a rustic tart. I love the idea of "rustic" because no matter how your crust turns out, you can always say it's supposed to be that way.

The tart was incredibly easy to throw together, and I was very pleased with the result. I loved the plums, but I must say that the crust with the almond paste was my favorite part. Katie even liked the tart and said it was one of the best fruit tarts she's had. The kids, however, showed no interest or expressed their disgust. But, that was OK, it just meant more for Mom and Dad. For a couple evenings in a row after the kids had gone to bed,  Katie and I each enjoyed a warm slice of tart served with scoop of vanilla ice cream while watching British comedies on PBS.

This tart has made us fans of the plum. If you're not already a fan, give this tart a try, and see if it doesn't win you over.

I also love the deep purple and shades of orange the plums
turned as they were baked.

*We also received a bunch of nectarines I thought would be good in a recipe. But, alas... Katie likes nectarines, and I didn't get to them quick enough.

Apricot Raspberry Tart

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It's apricot season in Utah!

Apricots are part of the culture in these parts. We even have a children's song about apricot trees. It seems like every yard except ours has an apricot tree. This, of course, is perfectly fine by me because neighbors are usually happy to share, and I don't have to clean up any rotted fruit off the ground.

A friend posted on Facebook they had a tree full of ripe apricots free for picking. So, I went over and picked enough to make apricot pineapple jam* and this recipe for apricot raspberry tart. I wanted to make this tart for three reasons:

1. I'm not sure I have ever used the tart pan that's been in our cupboard for I don't know how long. It's finally time.
2. I also picked up some great looking raspberries at the farmer's market.
3. This tart reminds me of the apricot desserts I sampled last year in Austria. An area just outside Vienna is famous for its apricots. One word—amazing.

As long as you have a food processor, this recipe is easy. If you don't have one, use canned almond filling instead.

And as an added bonus, here is some music to motivate you to try this tart. The first song is the song mentioned above, "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree," followed by two variations. Enjoy and happy baking! (If the widget doesn't appear, I apologize. Grooveshark has been having problems lately.)

*This is one of our family's favorites, and I'll post the recipe soon.

This dessert makes summer sweet!

Cool Van Gogh plate, don't you agree?