Hello everybody!

August, for me, is always the best summer month mostly because this is the season for my favorite fruit: the mirabelle. Mirabelle is a sweet golden little plum that usually is sold in August and September in France. Originally from Lorraine in the North-East of France, they are one of the symbols of this gorgeous region and their mirabelle jam and mirabelle eau-de-vie (liquor) are a must buy and try! Of course, living in Canada means different fruits and one day after seeing golden plums looking very similar to mirabelles I thought that I finally found these sweet little plums that I like so much. Well, I quickly realized that they were not after discovering the sourness of their skin! But these yellow plums are still a good alternative to mirabelles here in Canada and I figured that I could probably use them to make this French summer favorite: mirabelle tart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canadian yellow plums are quite acidic and sour so it requires a little bit of preparation or your tart will be sour like I realized in my first try. That’s why soaking them in sugar for at least 24h is the best way to get rid of their acidity! Mirabelle tart is very simple and easy to make and it is the perfect dessert for the season. The golden color of the plums is a good reminder of the very warm sun in the summer! This is probably one of my favorite tart as it is so simple, not overly sweet and simply taste like summer!

Let’s start baking!

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 2/3 cups + 1/4 cup flour
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 2/4 cups ground almonds (or almond flour)
• 1 egg

Filling:

• 2 tbsp ground almonds (or almond flour)
• 500g (1 pound) of yellow plums( or mirabelles if you can find them)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 5 cl heavy cream

Preparation:

1- Cut plums in half and put them in a bowl. Add sugar and let in the fridge for about 24h. Yellow plums are much more sour than mirabelles so soaking them in sugar will help remove the acidity. If you are making this tart with mirabelles you can skip this step.

2- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour and the butter. Make sure to let your butter at room temperature as it is easier to incorporate when soft. Mix the flour and butter with your hands until you get a sandy texture.

3- Add the icing sugar, ground almonds and the egg. Mix well until the dough comes together in a ball and isn’t sticking to your hands. Wrap in surround wrap and let in the fridge for 1 to 2 h.

4- Preheat the oven at 355 F/180 C. Take the dough out of the fridge. Put flour on a flat surface and make the dough flat with a rolling pin. Take a tart pan (mine was 9″/22.9 cm) and place the dough in it. Press it down until it sticks well to the pan. Prick the crust with a fork.

5- Add the ground almonds at the bottom of the tart crust and place the plums/mirabelles in it. Make sure to place them vertically with the rounded side out as it will allow you to put the most fruits possible in the tart. See picture below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6- In a bowl, mix the cream, sugar and egg. Pour at the center of the tart and let the liquid flow everywhere in the tart.

7- Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 min. The plums should be slightly caramelized and the crust perfectly baked. Let the tart cool down and enjoy! You can sprinkle some sugar on top if you want the tart to be a bit sweeter or dust it with icing sugar for decoration.

Mirabelle tart is a summer favorite in France and the perfect pie to share with friends and family! If plums are not your favorite, you can always switch the plums for apricots which is also a popular fruit used in summer tarts in France.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you will enjoy this recipe! Let me know in the comment what you think about this recipe and if you liked it.

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