Plum and almond tart is a timeless classic. The sweetness of the plums and the floral tones of the almond complement each other wonderfully, and this recipe gives it a bit of a modern twist with the addition of marzipan, for a fuller and deeper flavour.

We serve this plum tart in our Garden Café, where we offer a range of freshly-prepared cakes, tarts, pastries, sweet treats and traditional bakes each day.

Traditional baking will also be the focus of our Lady Claire Macdonald Afternoon Tea at Gleneagles from 12 November – 18 November, inspired by the recipes of celebrated chef, food writer and owner of the award-winning Kinloch Lodge on the Isle of Skye. To find out more and book your table, visit www.gleneagles.com.

Makes one 11” tart

Ingredients

For the sweet pastry:

180g unsalted butter

110g icing sugar

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

35g ground almonds

½ tsp salt

300g plain flour

For the almond cream:

75g unsalted butter

75g caster sugar

75g ground almond

75g whole egg

30g plain flour

½ tsp salt

For the tart:

150g marzipan

7x Victoria plums, halved and stones removed

100g apricot jam

40g flaked almonds

Method

1 First, make the sweet pastry. In an electric stand mixer, use the paddle attachment and cream the butter with 75g of icing sugar. Add the egg and egg yolk slowly, making sure everything is fully combined. Add the remaining icing sugar, ground almonds, salt and flour and continue to mix until it forms a dough. Cover the dough and allow to rest in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours. After resting, roll the dough out until it is 3.5mm thick and line an 11” tart ring. Put the tart case back into the fridge for later.

2 Next, make the almond cream. In an electric stand mixer, use the paddle attachment and cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg slowly, making sure you emulsify them completely. Add the remaining ingredients, and mix well to form the almond cream and set aside.

3 To assemble the tart, first preheat the oven to 175°C. Roll out the marzipan to approximately 2mm. Cut it into a disc just smaller than the base of the tart and lay it inside the tart ring. Spread an even layer of almond cream on top of the marzipan, making sure you leave a gap of about 5mm from the top of the tart case. Arrange the plums randomly over the top of the almond cream and sprinkle over the flaked almonds.

4 Bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the tart is golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Heat the apricot jam in a small pan with a splash of water. Use the jam to glaze the entire surface of the tart. Enjoy the tart warm with ice cream or custard, or leave to cool for the perfect afternoon treat with a cup of tea.