Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 300 g flour
- 150 g cold butter (unsalted), diced
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 50–65 ml cold water, or as needed
For the filling:
- 50 g ground hazelnuts (or almonds)
- 10 g flour
- 600 g fresh prune plums / Zwetschgen (about 20), halved and pitted
Instructions
Make the pastry:
- Place the flour and salt in a large bowl and add the butter. Using your fingertips, work the butter lightly into the flour, leaving plenty of visible pea-sized and slightly larger pieces. These pieces of butter help create a flaky pastry. TIP: Alternatively, pulse the flour, salt and butter briefly in a food processor until the butter is broken into pea-sized pieces, then transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
- Add the egg yolk and toss gently to combine. Gradually drizzle in about half of the cold water while tossing the mixture lightly with your fingertips. Continue adding just enough water for the dough to form moist clumps.
- Gently press the dough together without kneading. If dry flour remains at the bottom of the bowl, add a few drops of water to it separately, bring it together, then incorporate it into the rest of the dough.
- Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or for up to 3 days).
Prepare the tart base:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and generously grease a 24 cm tart tin with butter, preferably one with a removable base.
- Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface until large enough to line the tart tin. Carefully transfer the pastry to the tin, gently pressing it into the base and sides, then trim away any excess around the edges.
- In a small bowl, combine the ground hazelnuts and flour. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the pastry base.
- Arrange thee plums tightly over the tart base, cut-side up, overlapping slightly if necessary.Tip: For a little extra richness, dot the fruit with a few small pieces of butter before baking.
- Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for about 1 hour, or until the pastry is golden brown and the plums are soft and juicy.
- Transfer the tart tin to a wire cooling rack and leave the tart to cool slightly before removing it from the tin and slicing. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
- Adjust the sweetness to your fruit: Zwetschgen range from naturally sweet to quite tart, so taste one first. For sweeter, ripe fruit, the tart is delicious without added sugar. If you prefer a sweeter tart, add 1 tablespoon sugar to the flour when making the pastry, then sprinkle 1–3 tablespoons demerara sugar over the plums before baking, depending on how tart they are.
- Serving tip: With no added sugar, this tart works just as well for breakfast or brunch as it does for dessert. Enjoy it as is, or serve with a spoonful of Greek yoghurt.