• Plum custard tart
    Baking,  Food

    Plum Custard Tart

    Slice through the deep purple exterior of a black plum, and you find a center whose sweetness intensifies in the oven. Combine that sweetness with vanilla crème fraîche custard and a tender, cookie-like crust, and you have what could easily be my favorite fruit tart. This recipe made me fall in love with plums all over again, and it is a glorious way to enjoy late summer fruit. As with many of my dessert tarts, a slice rivals the best breakfast pastry. In the middle of the plum custard tart sits a half-round that becomes glazed with its own juice – no jam topping here. A generous sprinkle of raw…

  • natilla custard tart
    Baking

    Natillas Tart

    Natillas is a rich Spanish custard with vanilla and cinnamon. Delicious on its own, or with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top, it also makes a flavorful filling for almond flavored tart pastry. Top it with thin and crispy coconut lace cookies, and you have a combination of favorite dessert textures and flavors in one. Unlike crema catalana or crème brûlée, natillas does not include the thin layer of caramelized sugar that breaks into shards when tapped with the spoon. Arguably the golden layer is the best part of these European desserts. Instead of torched sugar, I top my natillas tart with cookie crisps that have a similar color and…