PLUMS, BROWN SUGAR, HAZELNUTS

Late summer fruit baked under a soft and crumbly cookie crust. • The crust is fragile. It is easiest to lift the raw dough into place by sliding the loose base of a tart tin under the patted-out dough and pushing it gently into place. You can patch any tears once the dough is on top of the fruit. No worries should your dough crumble. The plum juice will bubble enticingly through any cracks. • Plums are just one possible fruit here – any gages or damsons will work brilliantly too – but it is best to avoid anything too sweet. The cookie dough provides all the sweetness you need.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Put the butter in the bowl of a food mixer, add the sugars and beat till pale and fluffy. Add a couple of drops of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Break the egg into a small bowl and beat lightly with a fork, then add to the butter and sugar, beating continuously. With the beater still turning, add the flour and the hazelnuts. Turn the mixture out onto a floured board.

Step 2

Halve and stone the plums and pack them into a deep-sided baking dish about 22cm in diameter. Pat the cookie dough into a thick disc large enough to cover the dish, then place on top of the plums.

Step 3

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the surface is lightly crisp and the plum juices are peeping through. Eat warm, with cream, custard or yoghurt.