Christmas Tart (Plum Tarts)
“This is one of the most well-known dishes in Sweden and is served on a smorgasbord, for lunch, or as a late night supper. It can be prepared ahead of time and then reheated later using a little extra cream or milk. “
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
Instructions
  1. If you don’t have time to make your own dough, use good-quality frozen puff pastry.
The Dough
  1. Mix the flour and baking powder with the softened butter and blend it in roughly with your fingers until it is sandy.
  2. Add the cold water and mix quickly with your hand to make the dough smooth.
  3. Let the dough rest in a cool place for an hour or two.
  4. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin into a large, even square about 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick; and fold in three like a letter.
  5. Roll the dough out in the opposite direction; repeat the folding and rolling process several times to create the puff pastry.
  6. Let rest in a cool place.
The Filling
  1. Cut the plums into thin slices, add the water and sugar and cook on a low temperature for 20 minutes.
  2. Let the filling cool down.
Assembly
  1. Cut the pastry into 3-inch squares and place a mound of filling in the center of each square.
  2. Split each corner from the top to within 1/2 inch (12 mm) of the center.
  3. Fold one half of each corner of the square to the center, thus forming a star.
  4. Moist the corners with waters to keep them sealed.
  5. Egg wash the tarts and place on an ungreased baking sheet.
  6. Let stand in room temperature for 10 minutes before baking.
  7. Bake in the oven 425′ F (225′ C) until the surface is golden brown, approximately 15 minutes.
  8. After cooling, you can powder the tarts with powdered sugar to make them more appealing to the eye.