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Roasted Plum and Mascarpone Tart

By Joe Gitter

Published on October 13, 2020

Time

1½ hours, plus 30 minutes cooling

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Roasted Plum and Mascarpone Tart

Ingredients

12 ounces (340 grams/1½ cups) mascarpone cheese, room temperature2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus ½ teaspoon juice1 (9½ by 9-inch) sheet puff pastry, thawed1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided6 ripe but firm plums, halved and pitted¾ cup dry white wine ¼ cup dried currants ¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) granulated sugar 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, divided⅛ teaspoon table salt

Before You Begin

To thaw frozen puff pastry, let it sit either in the refrigerator for 24 hours or on the counter for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Be gentle when stirring the mascarpone in step 1; stirring aggressively can cause the cheese to become too loose or even break.

Instructions

  1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Gently stir mascarpone, confectioners' sugar, and lemon zest together in bowl until combined, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  2.  Roll pastry into 14 by 10-inch rectangle on floured counter and transfer to parchment paper–lined rimmed baking sheet. Poke dough all over with fork, then brush surface with egg wash. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
  3.  Using tip of paring knife, cut ½-inch-wide border around top edge of pastry (being careful not to cut through to bottom), then press center down with your fingertips. Transfer tart shell to wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
  4.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 12-inch ovensafe skillet over medium-high heat. Place plum halves cut side down in skillet and cook, without moving, until plums are beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and roast for 5 minutes. Flip plums cut side up and continue to roast until fork easily pierces fruit, about 5 minutes.
  5.  Remove skillet from oven and transfer plums to plate. Being careful of hot skillet handle, whisk in wine, currants, granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon thyme, and salt. Bring to vigorous simmer over medium-high heat, whisking to scrape up any browned bits, and cook until sauce has consistency of maple syrup and measures about ½ cup, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in lemon juice. Let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
  6.  Spread mascarpone mixture evenly over cooled tart shell, avoiding raised border, then arrange plums over top. Drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon thyme. Serve.
Roasted Plum and Mascarpone Tart
Photography by Keller + Keller. Styling by Chantal Lambeth.

Roasted Plum and Mascarpone Tart

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Time

1½ hours, plus 30 minutes cooling

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

12 ounces (340 grams/1½ cups) mascarpone cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus ½ teaspoon juice
1 (9½ by 9-inch) sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
6 ripe but firm plums, halved and pitted
¾ cup dry white wine
¼ cup dried currants
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, divided
⅛ teaspoon table salt

Ingredients

12 ounces (340 grams/1½ cups) mascarpone cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus ½ teaspoon juice
1 (9½ by 9-inch) sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
6 ripe but firm plums, halved and pitted
¾ cup dry white wine
¼ cup dried currants
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, divided
⅛ teaspoon table salt

Ingredients

12 ounces (340 grams/1½ cups) mascarpone cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus ½ teaspoon juice
1 (9½ by 9-inch) sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
6 ripe but firm plums, halved and pitted
¾ cup dry white wine
¼ cup dried currants
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, divided
⅛ teaspoon table salt

Why This Recipe Works

While a conventional pie's top crust shields fruit and traps moisture for a perfectly cooked, luscious texture, there's also something incredibly appealing about the richly caramelized exterior of roasted fruit that you don't get in a double-crust pie. So for this elegant puff pastry tart, we first roasted the fruit—we chose plums, which gain great complexity from roasting—before adding it to a baked shell for an easy-to-assemble multilayer tart. We jump-started the process by searing the plums in butter before transferring the skillet to a hot oven for 10 minutes. We deglazed the pan with white wine, adding sugar, thyme, and currants to create a lacquering sauce. For a rich, plush filling that tied the components together, we incorporated creamy, lightly sweetened mascarpone cheese flavored with a little lemon zest.

Before You Begin

To thaw frozen puff pastry, let it sit either in the refrigerator for 24 hours or on the counter for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Be gentle when stirring the mascarpone in step 1; stirring aggressively can cause the cheese to become too loose or even break.

Instructions

  1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Gently stir mascarpone, confectioners' sugar, and lemon zest together in bowl until combined, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  2.  Roll pastry into 14 by 10-inch rectangle on floured counter and transfer to parchment paper–lined rimmed baking sheet. Poke dough all over with fork, then brush surface with egg wash. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
  3.  Using tip of paring knife, cut ½-inch-wide border around top edge of pastry (being careful not to cut through to bottom), then press center down with your fingertips. Transfer tart shell to wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
  4.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 12-inch ovensafe skillet over medium-high heat. Place plum halves cut side down in skillet and cook, without moving, until plums are beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and roast for 5 minutes. Flip plums cut side up and continue to roast until fork easily pierces fruit, about 5 minutes.
  5.  Remove skillet from oven and transfer plums to plate. Being careful of hot skillet handle, whisk in wine, currants, granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon thyme, and salt. Bring to vigorous simmer over medium-high heat, whisking to scrape up any browned bits, and cook until sauce has consistency of maple syrup and measures about ½ cup, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in lemon juice. Let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
  6.  Spread mascarpone mixture evenly over cooled tart shell, avoiding raised border, then arrange plums over top. Drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon thyme. Serve.

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