They say you should never grocery shop without a list but at the farmers’ market anything goes. I browse and taste until I’ve found sweet, ripe fruit that I like and figure out what to do when I get home. On a recent trip, I was drawn to a table blanketed with green and purple figs. The Kadotas (green ones) had the most beautiful pink interior and they were perfectly sweet. I knew I wanted to use them fresh vs. cooked, so they ended up being the topping for these cheesecake bars.
I went to Chez Panisse for my 30th birthday and it was the most wonderful experience. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend going, regardless of whether or not you have something to celebrate. They really showcase what’s in season, which is how I get inspired to bake. The kitchen is connected to the restaurant and the staff encourages you to walk through as they’re cooking. I got up several times throughout the meal to check in on what they were doing, lingering mainly by the pastry station, of course. It was fall at the time (shout-out to fellow November babies!), so the chefs were making an apple version of their signature galette.
Recently, founder and owner Alice Waters posted a video of the chefs making a plum version and it looked sooo beautiful, I had to make it. Google led me to an old article with the recipe. It’s pretty straight forward and adaptable to whatever fruit is in season. There are a few tricks noted below, that I love and plan on doing with my galettes going forward.
Chez Panisse Plum Galette RECIPE
If you make one, I’d love to see it! Share with me on Instagram #pastrywithjenn.
During the peak of summer, I find myself going to the farmers’ market once, sometimes twice, a week to see what’s new. I may be a bit too excited because lately I’ve been buying so many goodies, I’m not eating and baking fast enough! I had a few apricots and plums shoved in the back of the fridge, poor things, and they would have made a great after-work snack, but instead, I used them in tarts.
During the summer months, I often spend twice as long at the farmers’ market. You can find me at the tomato stand sorting through heirloom tomatoes. I like to have a variety of colors. The deep red, almost purple ones are especially pretty. As far as shape, the knobbly, deeply ridged ones are fun, but for this tart, I selected the more traditional round shape.
My tart obsession began with the fruit tart. Buttery crust, creamy, lightly sweetened filling, juicy fruit on top. It was one of the first desserts I learned to make. After many years and tarts later, the one thing that has remained most important is no soggy crust! I will do everything in my power to ensure it stays crisp and that often means bringing components and tools (offset spatula, pastry brush) to parties to assemble just before serving. Note, even though I wish to assemble it fresh, the components can be prepared 1-2 days in advance.