Tarte au fine with plums and crumble topping

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4)

2. Thinly roll out your puff pastry on a floured surface. Take a baking tray lined with baking paper, and cut out six circles of pastry using a 10cm cutter, place these on the lined tray. Glaze each pastry disc with egg yolk and prick all over with a fork.

3. Cut your plums in half, remove the stone and cut each half into quarters. Place the quarters on the pastry discs to cover, but leaving a small edge of pastry all the way around.

4. Now make the crumble topping, place the butter, sugar and flour in a bowl, rub the butter into the flour and sugar using your fingertips. Ensure that the mixture remains quite chunky so you get a lovely crumble texture. Finally, stir in the cinnamon.

5. Divide the crumble mixture between the tarts and place in the oven – when you place the baking sheet in the oven slide the baking paper away from the tray so the tarts sit on the oven shelf just on the baking paper. This will ensure that the tarts cook quickly and at the correct temperature.

6. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry bases are golden and the plums have cooked and caramelized. Serve warm from the oven with a dusting of icing sugar.