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

A B&B definitely boosts my creativity in the kitchen every 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 day walking down the stairs from my bedroom to the kitchen and seeing through the glass door, my mother, sitting at the table, enjoying her coffee while reading a magazine or 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 COVID; 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 of butter
75 g of sugar
3 egg yolks and a splash of egg white
200 g of all-purpose flour
150 g of almond flour
A pinch of salt

For the frangipane filling:

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

Start by assembling the ingredients of the tart shell. Place the two flours and sugar in a bowl, make a well in the middle and add the eggs, followed by the cold butter cut into chunks. 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 again 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 out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until approx. 3 mm thick. Place the tart into the tin, carefully cutting with a knife the excess dough and spoon in the frangipane custard, making sure it’s well distributed. Arrange the quartered plums nicely on top and scatter almonds all over the surface.

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

Buon appetito! xx

ph by me and Veronika Krizova.

Plum frangipane tart