I’ll admit it: sometimes a recipe starts with a visual idea and the flavors follow. Walking the farmers’ market, I was drawn to jewel-toned plums, plumcots, and pluots and imagined a tart topped with alternating pink and red half-moons. From that image came honey, ginger, and mascarpone, plus curiosity about no-bake cheesecakes. The final catalyst was a new square tart pan I was eager to use.
The concept became a plum or plumcot tart filled with a no-bake honey-ginger mascarpone cheesecake and set in a browned-butter shortbread crust. My first crust attempt — a standard sweet shortcrust found in an online recipe — didn’t hold up: it baked unevenly and turned crumbly. I considered switching to shortbread, and then a rerun of America’s Test Kitchen offered exactly what I wanted: a shortbread crust enriched with browned butter. The nutty depth of browned butter pairs beautifully with plum, honey, and ginger.
This tart is versatile. Use any ripe-but-firm plums, pluots, or plumcots — red- and pink-fleshed varieties create the prettiest contrast. I used a small cookie cutter to make quarter-inch circles from plum slices, then halved them to form alternating half-moons, but you can simply layer plain slices over the mascarpone filling for a simpler approach.
Plum Tart with Honey Ginger Mascarpone Filling
The plums or plumcots top a no-bake honey-ginger mascarpone filling set in a browned-butter shortbread crust. The crust is adapted from America’s Test Kitchen.
browned butter crust, honey ginger mascarpone, plum tart
Ingredients
Browned Butter Crust
-
1 2/3
cup
all-purpose flour -
5
tbsp
sugar -
generous 1/8
tsp
salt -
12 1/2
tbsp (1/2 cup plus 4 1/2 tbsp)
unsalted butter -
2 1/2
tbsp
water
Filling
-
4
oz
neufchâtel or regular cream cheese
at room temperature -
1 1/2
inch piece
fresh ginger
peeled -
5
tbsp
honey -
5
oz
mascarpone -
1/2
cup
heavy whipping cream -
5-7
plums, pluots, or plumcots
ripe but firm
Instructions
Browned Butter Crust
-
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C).
-
Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a bowl.
-
Melt the butter in a small stainless-steel saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling occasionally. When the foam subsides and the butter solids turn golden with a nutty aroma, remove from heat and stir in the water. The mixture will bubble; when it calms, pour the browned butter into the flour mixture and stir to form a dough.
-
Transfer the dough to a 9-inch square or 10-inch round fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Let it rest for 10 minutes until just warm.
-
Press the dough evenly across the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using about two-thirds for the base and one-third for the sides.
-
Place the pan on a wire rack set on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
-
Allow the crust to cool completely, at least one hour.
Filling
-
Grate the peeled ginger on a microplane into a fine-mesh strainer set over a small bowl. Press the grated ginger to extract the juice and discard the solids. Reserve the ginger juice.
-
Using an electric mixer, whip the mascarpone with the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer to another bowl and set aside.
-
In the same mixing bowl (no need to clean), beat the cream cheese with the ginger juice and honey until smooth. Gently fold in the whipped mascarpone mixture. Taste and add more honey or a teaspoon or two of sugar if you prefer it sweeter.
-
Spread the filling into the cooled crust. Refrigerate the tart for at least three hours to set.
-
Slice the fruit as desired and arrange the slices over the chilled mascarpone. Keep the tart refrigerated and serve the same day for best texture and flavor.