Plum and Blackberry Tarts with Lavender Cream Drizzle

It was that bad ole Bake From Scratch magazine that made me do it. I saw the picture of their plum tarts with a lavender glaze and my fancy was captured. What to do but make them? And it just so happened that I had picked a batch of blackberries and had them in the fridge, why not use some of them?  Full speed ahead!

 The tarts look so pretty because of their thin, layered slices. And it helps that the recipe is so dead simple. I mean, you totally cheat by getting to use store-bought puff pastry, and then you have the joy of slicing thin, shining red wedges of plum. It seems like no work but all play.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Then simply unfold each puff pastry sheet and divide into 9 even squares. Brush each of these with an egg wash made of one egg and 1 tablespoon of water, beaten well. This is the "glue" that holds the fruit down and makes the pastry bake up richly brown. Layer your fruit (I made 9 plum and 9 blackberry) and then sprinkle with granulated sugar. I used large, coarse sugar because I think it looks like glitter! 

Note- I made up the idea of the pockets of blackberries. I thought they looked lovely, but the pastry puffs so much ( puff pastry, duh!) that it pulled my pinched together pockets apart. Say that three times fast! If I did the blackberry ones again I would use regular pie pastry for the folded pockets to keep their shape.

Anyhoo, then you toss the pans into the preheated oven for 14-18 minutes. Keep an eye on them, there is a short amount of time between gorgeously browned and crustily burnt edges!

While these bake you make the lavender drizzle. It is just as simple as the tarts themselves. The one thing I did differently from the recipe is that I ground my lavender into some granulated sugar. Why? Because they have you just stirring the lavender blossoms into the glaze. I don't like to bite into big bits of lavender. It makes the flavor go from a delicate background note to chewing on a bit of weed. 
So, I took about 2 teaspoons of regular granulated sugar and ground the 1/4 teaspoon of lavender blossoms (fresh or dried) with a pestle. You could also grind it in a processor. The powdered sugar wouldn't work because you need the grit of granulated to break down the flowers.

Combine your ground lavender sugar with 3/4 of a cup of powdered sugar and whisk in 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of sour cream until it is smooth. Let your tarts cool slightly and then drizzle over the glaze. I actually liked the glaze so much that when I began to eat them, I added more to my plate. The drizzle is surprisingly tart because of the sour cream and, since the fruit is directly on pastry with no filling, it added a creamy touch that is really needed. The amount of glaze is far more than you'll need- why not drizzle it over other fresh fruit?

 You can see the small bits of lavender in the bowl of glaze. Just the right amount to not be overpowering.

I added some florets from my fresh lavender- so pretty! This is a very easy and yet special-occasion-worthy dessert.

"Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness."  ~Auguste Escoffier