I’ve been loving nutmeg lately so I decided to make it the star of the show. If nutmeg isn’t your thing, you can add cardamom or cinnamon to the filling. I’ve made it with some black pepper in the crust and enjoyed that too. Choose your own adventure!
Makes 1 9″ tart
For the crust:
1/2 cup walnut pieces
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
½ tsp sugar
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces
For the filling:
1 cup ground walnuts
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
6 tbsp granulated sugar
¾ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
6 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs, beaten
½ tsp. vanilla extract
3-5 plums, ripe but firm, pitted & sliced
Raw sugar, for sprinkling
For dough:
Place walnuts in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add flour, salt, and sugar, and pulse until well combined. Add butter and pulse until pea-size shaped. While motor is running, slowly drizzle in 1 tablespoon ice water until dough is moist and crumbly in texture. Press mixture into a flattened disc and wrap tightly in plastic. Chill for 1 hour. Wipe out processor, no need to wash.
Roll out dough on a piece of parchment paper until it’s an 11” round. Carefully transfer dough to a 9” tart pan, pressing dough into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. Trim excess dough by rolling the pin across the surface of the tart pan. (Don’t worry if your kitchen is warm and dough is falling apart, this dough is very forgiving and can be easily patched.) Chill dough in pan, 30 min.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until edges barely begin to turn golden 15-20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
For filling:
Place walnuts in the food processor until finely ground. Add sugar, flour and nutmeg and pulse until combined. While the processor is running, slowly add melted butter until combined. Combine eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. Add mixture to food processor and pulse until mixture is smooth. Pour into a measuring cup (should have about 1 ¾ cups) cover with plastic and chill for 1 hour or up to overnight.
Position rack in center of oven and heat to 350°F. Spread walnut filling evenly in cooled tart crust. Top filling decoratively with plums slices. Sprinkle raw sugar on top of plums. Bake until frangipane has puffed and is golden brown, rotating pan halfway thru, 55 minutes to 1 hour. Cool tart on rack. (I also like it cold.) Slice and serve with whipped cream, a drizzle of heavy cream, powdered sugar, and/or ice cream… whatever you want!
Do ahead:
Crust and filling can be made and refrigerated up to two days prior to baking.
