This rustic yet elegant Plum Tart pairs a lovely Italian-style shortcrust pastry with smooth walnut frangipane and jammy baked plums, balancing texture and flavor in every bite.

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When I build a dessert in my head, it’s all about balance. I never want something that tastes one-note or purely sweet. This Plum Tart is the perfect example of that approach. The plums already offer contrast, with their tart skins and sweet, jammy flesh, and they’re paired with a walnut-based take on classic frangipane, all baked inside a crisp, buttery shortcrust pastry The result is a tart that feels grounded and composed: the nuts add warmth and depth, the plums bring brightness and acidity and some darker caramelized notes, and the Italian-style pastry, known as pasta frolla ties it all together with a crumbly sweet structure. This tart feels refined without being fussy, where each component complements the others perfectly.

A side view of a slice of plum tart, revealing the walnut frangipane below.

Let's Talk About Plums

Plums come in a range of colors and flavors, from deep purple and red to golden and even some more green-leaning varieties. Like most fruit, their sweetness can range from sweet and mellow to more pronounced tartness. I always suggest eating the fruit you plan to work with first to get an idea of its sweetness and flavor. If you like plums, you will likely like them in the dessert.

Different types of plums sliced in half to show their differences.

Choose plums that are ripe but not mushy. Using more than one type of plum for the tart will add nice color and flavor variation to the tart. The different levels of sweetness and acidity make each bite more interesting.

The most common types of plums you'll find at the store are either red plums (sometimes called Santa Rosa) or black plums. At farmers' markets, you'll find more varieties, including Italian plums, which are a bit sweeter than grocery store plums and smaller in size.

Let's Talk Frangipane

I created this recipe with my Apple Rose Pie in my mind, which also features fruit baked into a frangipane. Frangipane is a classic French-style almond cream made from ground nuts, butter, sugar, and eggs. It bakes into something soft and slightly cake-like, rich but not heavy, sweet but not overly so. In this tart, swapping the traditional almonds for walnuts changes the flavor entirely, giving the filling a deeper, more earthy quality that pairs so well with the plums, especially as they get roasty and jammy in the oven. Almond frangipane typically has a good dose of almond extract, but in this walnut version, pairing it with bourbon adds a deeper flavor. This, however, is completely optional, and may be omitted with no other changes to the recipe.

How to Make It

This tart comes together easily with the help of a food processor, which handles both the Italian pastry and the walnut frangipane. Once the crust is baked and the frangipane made, all that’s left is to layer the plums on top and bake until everything turns golden and jammy with bits of caramelized plums here and there.

Here is a visual overview of the process. The full recipe is located below this article.

Step 1: Prepare the pasta frolla in a food processor.

Step 2: Roll out the pastry into a tart pan with a removable bottom. Place the pastry in the freezer while the oven preheats.

An unbaked tart crust with parchment paper and dried beans weighing it down before baking.

Step 3: Blind bake the pastry.

Walnut frangipane being prepared in a food processor.

Step 4: Process walnuts, brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour and salt until its the consistency of sand. Add in the softened butter, egg, bourbon (if using), and vanilla extract and process until the mixture is smooth.

Assembling a tart plum with walnut frangipane.

Step 5: Transfer the walnut cream to the prepared pie shell and smooth it over.

An assembled but unbaked plum tart with alternative colors of plums.

Step 6: Arrange the sliced plums, skin side down and one slice at a time.

An assembled but unbaked plum tart with alternative colors of plums and a sprinkle of granulated sugar over the top.

Step 7: Sprinkle the plums generously with sugar.

A baked plum pie featuring different colored plums.

Step 8: Bake until the filling has puffed up and set throughout, 35 to 40 minutes.

Serving + Storing Leftovers

The baked tart needs to cool down for at least an hour before serving. The warmer it is, the harder it is to get a difficult slice. Serve this pie slightly warm or at room temperature. It can also be served as is, but it really shines with a scoop of ice cream.

To store the pie, leave it at room temperature, covered, for up to 1 day. For longer storage, cover and refrigerate.

A slice of plum pie on a plate with a scoop of ice cream.

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Full Recipe

Plum Tart with Walnut Frangipane

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This rustic yet elegant Plum Tart pairs a lovely Italian-style shortcrust pastry with smooth walnut frangipane and jammy baked plums, balancing texture and flavor in every bite.

Author: Kelli Avila
Prep Time: 00:25
Cook Time: 00:55
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield: Serves 10
Category: Fruit

Ingredients

For the Pastry:

1-½ cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface
¼ cup (35 grams) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lightly packed orange zest
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt (see note)
½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the Filling:

1½ cups (170 grams) shelled walnuts
½ cup (100 grams) brown sugar
⅓ cup (70 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 to 6 medium plums (about 1-½ pounds), cleaned, halved, and pitted, then sliced into 8 wedges
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

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Instructions

Make the Pastry:

Add the flour, powdered sugar, orange zest, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until well combined. Add the butter and pulse 5 to 7 times, or until it is broken down into tiny pebbles.
With the motor running, add the egg and let the dough process until it forms into a semi-cohesive dough, 30 to 45 seconds.
Transfer the dough to a flour-dusted work surface. Set the food processor aside to use again (no need to clean it, just remove any leftover pieces of pie dough)
Roll out the dough to an 11-inch circle. Fit the pastry into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, making sure to press the pastry into the sides and the bottom of the pan. Remove any excess dough hanging over the edge by pressing your thumb at an angle into the rim of the tart pan until the extra dough presses off.
Place the pastry-lined tart pan in the freezer while the oven preheats, at least 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375ºF and place an oven rack in the lower part of the oven.
Once chilled, line the tart shell with a round piece of parchment paper, then add pie weights (I recommend dry rice or beans or lentils), making sure to push the pie weights to the edges.
Bake on the lower rack for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and carefully remove the parchment and pie weights. Return to the oven and bake until the pastry is fully cooked through, another 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

Make the Tart Filling:

In the bowl of the now-empty food processor, combine the walnuts, brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour and salt, and pulse until the walnuts are the consistency of sand. Add in the softened butter, egg, bourbon (if using), and vanilla extract and process until the mixture is smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute.
Transfer the walnut cream to the prepared pastry and smooth it over.
Arrange the sliced plums, skin side down and one slice at a time, in concentric circles on top of the walnut cream, starting from the outer edge and moving inward, or in any pattern.
Sprinkle the plums with the sugar.
Bake the tart in the lower part of the preheated oven until the filling has puffed up and set throughout, 35 to 40 minutes.
Let the baked pie cool for at least 1 hour before serving.

Notes

This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt, decrease the volume by half.

The recipe doesn't call for it, but glazing the fruit on the baked tart is always an option. A fruit glaze preserves the tart just a bit longer, and adds an additional layer of sweetness, and a lovely shine. I usually opt-out of glazing pastries for a more natural look, but check out this tutorial on How to Glaze Fruit if you want to give that a try.

Adding bourbon to the frangipane adds a deeper flavor; however, it is completely optional and may be omitted with no other changes to the recipe.

You don’t need to wash the food processor between making the pastry and the filling; just remove any leftover bits of dough before adding the walnuts.

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