Recipe Scene: Custard, Almond and Prune Tart

I think prunes get a bad rap.  I love them, so sweet and juicy and rich.  Having said this they are not the most attractive fruit to look at – this recipe called for the prunes to be on top of the custard, but I’ve turned it over so the custard is on the top.  The original recipe (an old Family circle one) also had 50 grams of grated marzipan on top of the cooked pastry, before the custard and pruned were added.  I am not a fan of marzipan so I leave that out, but feel free to add.  If you have a Thermomix I suggest you make the custard int eh Everyday Cookbook, if not use the recipe below.  Also make sure you always buy pitted prunes, otherwise you’ll get RSI and very sticky indeed trying to remove all the stones.

Ingredients:

Prune mix –

375 grams pitted prunes

1 cup muscat or sweet sherry

Almond shortcrust pastry –

1 ½ cups plain flour

1/3 cup ground almonds

¼ cup caster sugar

125 grams chopped chilled butter

1 egg yolk

Custard –

¼ cup custard powder

1 2/3 cups milk

½ cup sour cream

1 tablespoon caster sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:

1. Place the prunes and sherry in a saucepan and heat for about 15 minutes until the prunes are very soft but still holding their shape. Set aside
2. To make the pastry put the flour, almond meal and butter in a food processor and process until well blended. Add the egg yolk and 2-3 tablespoons of iced water, process briefly until the mix just begins to come together.
3. Gently knead the dough, flatten into a disk and place in the fridge for 15 – 30 minutes until firm. Grease a fluted, loose based flan tin.
4. Remove pastry form the fridge, roll out and place in the tart tin. Trim the edges, prick the base all over with a fork and cover with a piece of baking paper and blind bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.  Remove the baking paper and cooking beads and cook for a further 10 minutes or until golden.  Leave in the tin to cool.
5. To make the custard, in a saucepan blend the custard powder with a little milk until smooth. Add the rest of the milk, sour cream and sugar.  Stir over a medium heat for 7 – 10 minutes until it has boiled and thickened.  Remove form heat, stir in the vanilla and set aside.
6. To assemble spoon the prunes onto the base of the pastry, spreading evenly. Carefully pour the custard over the prunes, making sure all the prunes are covered with custard.
7. Chill until ready to serve and eat with cream or ice cream.