In the ramekin with sour cream

I’ve been making Martha desserts for family dinners with my parents lately, so I decided to continue that trend and make Plum Tartes Tatin, from September Martha Stewart Living.

First stop, the grocery store, where I bought plums marked “ripe now” on the sign. They decidedly were NOT ripe and I put them in a paper bag for two days, hoping they would ripen. No change. They were still hard as rocks. Bravely, I forged ahead with this though since the plums have to be cooked and would (hopefully!) soften as I cooked them.

Second stop, another grocery store. My store did not have puff pastry – apparently there was a run on it. Who knew mid-August was prime puff pastry

On the plate with ice cream

baking time?

Happily, dear friends, I can tell you this is a super, super easy recipe! You cut up your plums and cook them on the stove with brown sugar and butter for about 10 minutes until they soften. My unripe plums did soften. You add a little salt and some brandy. Since I was cooking at chez Big MarthaAndMe, there was brandy available, so I added a little (not as much as Martha directs, but some). The alcohol cooks out.

Then you place your nicely smushed plums into ramekins and cover with circles of puff pastry. You’re supposed to thaw your puff pastry in the fridge overnight. I can never remember to do this. I found another excellent method though. On the day in question,  the thermometer registered 97 degrees on the deck, so I set it on the table out there for about 5-10 minutes and it was perfectly thawed.

You bake this for 40 minutes at 400. Mine was done in about 30 minutes though.

Martha says to serve with sour cream. Can I just say? Ick. I did try it with the sour cream (which I think was meant to be a cheap and quick substitute for creme fraiche) but let me tell you – ice cream is the way to go with this. This dessert was delicious. So good in fact, that every member of the family liked it  – from Big MarthaAndMe (who prefers tart tasting fruit desserts) to me (who prefers chocolate any time) to Dude Martha who likes anything sweet. Everyone agreed it was good. And I liked it because it was very simple to prepare. It was also very cute in the ramekins and looked like it was more work than it was. Big MarthaAndMe even asked for the recipe.

If I made this again, I think I might add some cinnamon to it. That’s my only comment though. Give it a try!