A Year In Redwood

I am so busy in the kitchen right now dealing with a mammoth harvest!  It is good, but sometimes the days just are not long enough!  Today alone I’ve made Blackcurrant Cordial, Plum Jam, Cucumber Pickle, Mixed Berry Jam and Tomato Sauce! Phew!

But dealing with the abundance of fruit is a fun way to try out new recipes too!  This is one I made last weekend – straight from Darina Allen’s Ballymaloe Cookery Course book.  I had the plums so that was the start!

Ingredients:

• 275 g sugar
• 150 ml water
• 900 g plums (this is what the recipe called for.  I only used half the amount)
• 150 g soft butter
• 175 g sugar
• 200 g self-raising flour
• 3 eggs

To make this tart you will need a 10 inch pan that can be used on top of the cooker and can also go into the oven.

Preheat oven to 170 deg. C/325 deg. F/ gas 3.

Method:

Put the sugar and water into the pan.  Stir over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then cook without stirring until the sugar caramelises to a rich golden brown. (This part took ages! I was watching for a good 20/25 minutes before it started to turn golden!)

Half and stone the plums.  Arrange them in a single layer over the caramel.  As I say, I only used about 450 g of plums here – so maybe it depends on the size of your plums!

Put the butter, sugar and flour into a food processor. Whizz for a second or two, add the eggs and stop whizzing as soon as the mixture comes together.  Spoon over the plums.  Spread gently in as even a layer as possible.

Bake in oven for about an hour.  The centre should be firm to touch and the edges slightly shrunk from the sides of the pan.

Allow to rest for 4 or 5 minutes before turning out.

Serve with whipped cream or creme fraiche.

Enjoy!