People often ask me whether I enjoy cooking lunches or dinners more, but the truth is, breakfast is my absolute favourite meal.

Running a B&B definitely boosts my creativity in the kitchen each morning. I love playing and improvising with what I have in the fridge or simply what comes fresh from our vegetable garden or trees.

To me, breakfast is simply the best moment of the day. I still remember vividly waking up every morning walking down the stairs from my bedroom to the kitchen and seeing my mother through the glass door, sitting at the table, enjoying her coffee while reading a magazine or a newspaper. No matter how badly behaved I had been the day before, she would always look at me with the sweetest smile, and say: “buongiorno amore”, and it was already a good day for me.

Here in Andros, I like to spoil my guests with homemade breakfast every day. I love to start with warm slices of sourdough bread (perks of quarantine; so much exercise with my sourdough Joe!), always followed by granola, Greek yoghurt, a selection of jams, eggs from our hens, savoury tarts, and something sweet like a cake, or crostata.

September is the time for almonds and plums, and I am fortunate enough to have Anna living next door with a beautiful plum tree dotted with many fruits. We visited her for a quick, icy cherry lemonade and a bite of “kourabiedes,” a typical almond cookie made with almonds from her trees; followed by a tour of her beautiful garden.

We filled our pockets and a whole basket with beautiful, juicy plums. I love how they hide a perfectly shiny skin, under an impalpable patina, to make themselves look even more precious. We carefully turned them into fruit salads and cakes, but my favourite version was a classic frangipane tart with almond shortcrust pastry, filled with frangipane custard and dotted with plums. To me the most beautiful and effortless tart ever!

Makes one tart approx 28 cm wide

For the tart shell:

90 g butter
75 g sugar
3 egg yolks, plus a splash of egg white
200 g all-purpose flour
150 g almond flour
A pinch of salt

For the frangipane filling:

70 g butter, cubed
80 g sugar
2 eggs
70 g almond flour
70 g all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon amaretto liquor or a few drops of bitter almond essence
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
2 to 3 large plums
A handful of slivered almonds

Start by assembling the ingredients for the tart shell. Place the two flours and sugar in a bowl, make a well in the middle and add the eggs, followed by cold butter. Quickly mix with your hands until the dough comes together. Flatten the dough slightly, cover it with a bowl and allow it to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

In the meantime prepare the frangipane custard. Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy, add one egg, mix until well incorporated, then add in the other. Add the two types of flour, amaretto and a splash of orange blossom water. Set aside in the fridge.

Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface until approx. 3 mm thick. Place the pastry in the tin, carefully cutting the excess dough with a knife, and spoon in the frangipane custard, making sure it’s evenly distributed. Arrange the quartered plums on top and scatter almonds over the surface.

Cook in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for approx. 40/45 minutes, or until golden.

Words by Allegra Pomilio

Photos by Veronika Krizova

PLUM FRANGIPANE TART