If you’re looking for a dessert that feels special but is a breeze to make, this homemade Plum Tarts Recipe is it. Puff pastry rounds are topped with juicy plum slices tossed in lemon zest, mint, sugar, and cinnamon, then brushed with apricot jam for a glossy, golden finish. It’s easy, delicious, and just as perfect on a weeknight as it is at a dinner party!
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A Quick Look at the Plum Tarts Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Plum Tarts Recipe
⏲️ Ready In: 45 minutes plus cooling time
🥣 Main Ingredients: Puff pastry, fresh plums, apricot jam or preserves, fresh mint, lemon zest, and cinnamon
📖 Dietary Info: Vegetarian (contains dairy and gluten)
♨️ Method: Bake
🍽️ Yield: 6 individual tarts
⭐️ Difficulty: Easy
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Table of Contents
My husband Robert and I often venture to Mexico to spend time with my childhood friend Katey Hartwell. One evening while we were there, a neighbor brought a rustically elegant and delicious dessert that combined buttery puff pastry with perfectly ripe plums in a rustic galette (a freeform pie).
The crust was flaky, and the plums were warm, soft, and syrupy, with just a hint of cinnamon. Every last bite was delicious. Once we returned home, I decided to create my own version, including transferring it from one large galette into individual tarts. This way, guests get a perfect little something all their own!
If you love cooking with fresh plums, swap the peaches for plums in these peach upside down cakes, or try this easy roasted peaches and plums recipe instead.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- A flavor combination you won’t find anywhere else. Fresh mint, bright lemon zest, and a whisper of cinnamon give these tarts a fresh, fragrant flavor.
- Made for entertaining. These come together earlier in the day, so you’re not stuck in the kitchen when guests arrive.
- Just a handful of ingredients. These plum tarts use purchased puff pastry, so there’s no pastry-making required. It’s a quick and easy dessert that looks like you spent more time in the kitchen than you did.
- Impressive, individual presentation. Each guest gets their own perfect little tart for an elegant yet easy dessert. These individual butterscotch pies are another dessert to try when entertaining.
Ingredients
Here’s all you need to make this quick and easy plum dessert (details, including quantities, are included in the recipe card below):
- Frozen puff pastry sheets: Puff pastry bakes up light and crisp, which makes a nicer contrast with juicy plums than a heavier pie dough would. Grab an extra box of puff pastry and make these mini cheese tart appetizers, too!
- Ripe but slightly firm plums (any kind): I prefer using red or purple plums like Elephant Heart because they have great color (red inside, dark red/purple outside) and are commonly available. Look for fruit that gives slightly when gently pressed and has a deep, even color; avoid any that are hard or underripe, since they won’t soften and turn juicy in the short baking time. Try to select ones that are approximately the same size.
- Apricot jam or preserves: Melted and brushed on top, adding shine and a glossy, bakery-style finish without competing with the plum flavor.
- Fresh mint, lemon zest, and ground cinnamon: This trio is what gives these tarts their signature flavor: the mint adds a fresh, fragrant lift, the lemon zest brightens the plums, and the cinnamon brings warmth.
Variations
- Swap the fruit. Other stone fruit works beautifully in place of plums. Try sliced apples, peaches, apricots, or nectarines. You can also try this classic apple tarte tartin instead.
- Add orange zest in addition to or in place of the lemon zest for a sweeter flavor.
- Substitute chopped fresh basil for the mint for a sweet, slightly peppery note.
- Use currant or other fruit-flavored jam in place of apricot.
- Add 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg for extra warmth alongside the cinnamon.
- No puff pastry on hand? A rolled-out disc of store-bought pie dough or a few layers of buttered phyllo sheets will both work in a pinch. The pie crust will be slightly less flaky and light, while the phyllo sheets create a lighter, almost delicate crust. Both are options for a golden, flaky crust, just with a slightly different texture.
How to Make This Plum Tarts Recipe
While these delectable Individual Plum Tarts look like they take more effort to make, they don’t. Beautiful and scrumptious, these tarts make for an impressive, easy to prepare recipe. Below are step-by-step instructions with photos. To get started, preheat the oven to 325 degree F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Create pastry rounds. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 puff pastry sheet until very thin. Cut into 3 (6-inch) circles. Pierce the bottom all over with a fork. Repeat with remaining pastry sheet; you will have a total of 6 rounds.
- Butter rounds. Place the circles on your prepared baking sheet and brush with melted butter. Set the tray aside while you prepare the plums.
- Prep plums. Pit the plums and cut each into 8 slices (around 1/4-inch thick).
- Season plums. Combine the plums, sugar, mint, lemon zest, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl.
- Place plums on pastry rounds. Arrange the sliced plums on top of pastry rounds, placing slices on their side, forming a pinwheel. Fold over edges of the pastry up to, but not over, the plums, to form a small rim.
- Coat with warm jam. In a small saucepan, melt the jam over medium heat, stirring. Remove the mixture from the heat and brush it lightly over the top of plums with a basting brush.
- Bake and cool. Bake the plum tarts about 30 minutes or just until the crusts are golden brown and the fruit is starting to bubble and get juicy. Be sure to watch them carefully so they don’t get overdone. Serve at room temperature with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center and garnish with whole mint leaves.
Tips for Success
- Keep the pastry cold. It’s important to work with cold puff pastry. If it gets warm, it becomes difficult to roll and cut, and won’t puff as much in the oven. Work quickly while rolling and cutting, and if it starts to soften, pop it back in the fridge for a few minutes to chill before continuing.
- Don’t skip piercing the dough. Poking the pastry all over with a fork keeps it from puffing up unevenly in the center, so you get a flat base with a nicely raised rim around the plums.
- Don’t overload the tarts with fruit or juices. A single layer of plum slices is all you need. Piling on too much fruit (or juice) is the real cause of a soggy bottom, not the crust itself.
- Watch the bake closely toward the end. Ovens vary, and puff pastry can go from golden to overdone quickly, so start checking a few minutes before the timer goes off.
Storage and Make Ahead
- Make ahead. These tarts can be baked earlier in the day, cooled, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated. Bring back to room temperature before serving.
- Storage. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Baked tarts can be frozen for up to 1 month. Cool completely, then freeze in a single layer before transferring to an airtight container or freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature and then re-crisp in a 325 degree F oven for a few minutes before serving.
- Transport. If taking these tarts to a pot luck or as a contribution to dinner at another home, cool, leave on the cookie sheets and cover with plastic wrap. Don’t stack them!
Plum Tarts Recipe FAQs
For this recipe, or other recipes where you roast or bake plums, leave the skin on. It adds a nice color and helps the fruit hold its shape. It also adds a bit of tartness that contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the plum flesh.
The key is not overloading the pastry with fruit or juices. A single layer of plum slices is enough. Also, keeping the pastry cold before it goes into the oven and piercing it well with a fork also helps it bake up crisp rather than dense. As long as you don’t make these more than a day ahead and bake until the crust is truly golden, sogginess shouldn’t be an issue.
Technically, these are neither. I took a few liberties calling them “tarts.” Here’s how they actually differ:
•Tart: Baked in a specific tart pan.
•Galette: A freeform pie where a pie crust is rolled flat, piled with fruit, and the edges folded over the fruit about 1 inch.
•Mine: Freeform like a galette, but with a thinner puff pastry crust, less fruit, and edges that stay folded up around the plums rather than over them.
A galette is basically a freeform pie that’s baked on a cookie sheet instead of in a pie dish. In addition, a galette made with puff pastry will have a light, crisp crust, whereas a pie will have a flaky crust.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve these tarts at room temperature, topped with a scoop of vanilla, butter pecan or sea salt caramel ice cream. They’re easiest to eat with a knife and fork.
They’re the perfect ending for a casual dinner party menu with these cheese ball appetizers to start, lemon chicken piccata as the main dish, and these roasted green beans for a colorful side dish.
If You Like Plum Tarts, Try These Other Fruit Dessert Recipes
Did you make this recipe?
If you make this recipe, be sure to comment and give it a rating below. Don’t hesitate to ask questions – I’m happy to help!
Individual Plum Tarts Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, (17.3 ounce box), thawed
- All purpose flour, for rolling the pastry
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 6 plums , see Note below, ripe but slightly firm
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, plus whole leaves for garnish
- 3 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup apricot jam
- Vanilla ice cream, optional, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 puff pastry sheet until very thin. Cut into 3 (6-inch) circles. Pierce the bottom all over with a fork. Repeat with remaining pastry sheet; you will have a total of 6 rounds.
- Place on ungreased cookie sheets and brush with melted butter. Set aside.
- Pit plums and cut each into 8 slices (around 1/4-inch thick).
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine plums, sugar, mint, lemon zest and cinnamon.
- Arrange on top of the pastry, placing the plum slices on their side, forming a pinwheel. Fold over edges of the pastry up to (but not over) the plums, to form a small rim.
- In a small saucepan, melt the jam over medium heat, stirring. Remove from heat; brush lightly over the top of the plums with a basting brush.
- Bake about 30 minutes or just until the crusts are done and the fruit is starting to bubble and get juicy (watch carefully so they don’t get overdone).
- Serve at room temperature, placing a small scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center, if desired.
- Garnish with whole mint leaves.
Notes
- Don’t skip piercing the dough. This keeps the center flat and helps it crisp up.
- Don’t overload with fruit or juice. A single layer is enough and prevents a soggy bottom.
- Watch the bake closely near the end. Puff pastry can overbrown fast.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Note: this recipe was originally posted in 2013 and then updated a few times over the years, most recently in November 2024.
