plum & marzipan brioche tarts

SERVES 6

6 slices of brioche, each 2.5cm thick About 70g softened butter, for spreading 30g soft light brown sugar, plus a little extra to finish 6 plums (they don’t have to be ripe), depending on size,

stoned and each cut into 4–6 wedges 40g marzipan, cut into 1cm cubes Icing sugar, to dust

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 2. Spread both sides and all the edges of the brioche slices with the softened butter.

3. Place the sugar in a shallow bowl and dip each slice in the sugar to coat on every side. Place the coated slices on the lined tray. Arrange 4–6 wedges of plum on each slice of brioche, with the wedges overlapping each other slightly. Scatter the marzipan pieces over the plums. Sprinkle over a little more sugar.

4. Bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes, watching them carefully so they don’t burn (if the plums are under-ripe, the tarts may take a little longer).

5. Remove from the oven and immediately transfer from the baking tray to a cooling rack (if you leave them on the tray, the bases may go soft). Serve hot or cold, and all temperatures in between, dusted with icing sugar.

This is an edited extract from Round To Ours by Laura Jackson and Alice Levine with photography by Kristin Perers ($39.99, Quadrille), available nationally.