Satsuma Plum & Mission Black Fig Tart: Vegan-style

photo by Janet Hudson

I thought I'd take a shortcut and use my favorite store bought pie dough but if you're interested in making a vegan version of it, I have Janet's recipe for that at the end of this post.

recipe adapted from Janet Hudson

Ingredients:
1 box Pillsbury Pie Crusts
12 satsuma plums, washed and sliced
10 mission figs
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup water
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 pinches of white pepper

Roll out crust and line tart pan. Layer the plums along the bottom. In saucepan, heat water and sugar with the figs and stir, bringing to a boil. Cook until broken down, then mix the cornstarch with 4 tsp water and add to the figs.

Continue to stir and cook until very thick. Stir in the pepper. Cool. Pour on top of plums then cover with more pastry, lattice, or plain. I love making the lattice on top, it makes it so pretty and it gives the tart that homemade look. (Check out my earlier post for making the lattice, I have a great video on two techniques.) Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Serves 8.

photo by Janet Hudson

Vegan Puff Pastry
recipe from Janet Hudson

Ingredients:
10 oz. flour
1-1/2 tsp. salt
6 fl oz. cold water
2 tbsp. melted vegetable margarine + 7 oz

Sift the flour into a mound on a cool work surface and make a well in the center. Add the salt, water and melted margarine to the well. Mix with four fingers until the salt dissolves.

Use a plastic pastry scraper to pull the flour into the well and mix until blended, adding a little more water if the pastry is dry. Work the pastry into a sticky ball with the pastry scraper.

Make an X-shaped incision on top of the dough, wrap in lightly floured baking parchment or tea towel, then refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Sandwich the remaining 7 oz. margarine between 2 sheets of baking parchment or grease proof paper and tap with a rolling pin until softened to the same consistency as the other pastry. Form the margarine into a square about 2 cm (3/4 inch) thick.

Place the ball of pastry on a lightly floured work surface and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Press the rolling pin into the top edge of the pastry and roll out an "arm". Give the dough a quarter turn and roll out another "arm". Continue to turn and roll twice more until the pastry is in the shape of a cross. It should be mounded in the center, tapering out the 4 arms. Place the square of margarine on the mounded center of the pastry and fold in the arms, stretching the pastry slightly to seal in the butter. (The 4 thicknesses of pastry on the top should be approximately the same thickness as the mound of pastry under the butter.)

Lightly tap the top of the pastry with a rolling pin to seal the edges and to enlarge and flatten the square a little. Roll out the pastry to a long rectangle about 7 inches wide and 21 inches long. The edges of the rectangle should be even and straight. Fold the bottom third of the rectangle up toward the center, carefully aligning the edges. Brush off any flour.

Fold the top third down to make a neat square and brush off any flour. Now you have a neat square of pastry with the fold on the bottom. Give the square a quarter turn to the left. For maximum rising it is important that you always rotate the pastry in the same direction so that the seam is always on the same side. The fold should then be at the side.

Roll out the pastry into a long rectangle. Again fold into thirds. Gently press 2 fingertips into the pastry to indicate that 2 turns have been completed. Wrap the pastry and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Give the pastry 2 more turns. Then mark it with 4 fingerprints to indicate a total of 4 turns have been completed.

Rewrap the pastry and return it to the refrigerator for another 30 minutes. (After 4 turns the pastry may be refrigerated for 2 days or frozen.) Give the pastry another 2 turns and mark it with 6 fingerprints. Then wrap and refrigerate it for 10 minutes more before rolling out for shaping and baking.