madbaker | And here's this week's.

This Week on Resolution Recipe Channel: Tart of Damsons.

Take damsons and seethe them in wine. Strain them with a little cream. Then boil your stuff over the fire till it be thick. Put thereto sugar, cinnamon, and ginger, but let it not into the oven after, but let your paste be baked before. (The Good Huswifes Iewell, 1596)

2 pounds damson plums
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger

Wash plums and cover with wine in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 30-40 minutes, until the plums break down. Strain the pits out from the pulp and mix cream into the plum goo. Bring back to a low boil and simmer, stirring, until thick enough to coat a spoon - about 45 minutes. Mix in sugar and spices and let cool.

halve the Pie crust recipe below (i.e. make a single crust):
To make fine Paste

Take fair flour and wheat and the yolks of eggs with sweet butter, melted; mixing all these together with your hands, till it be brought down paste. Then make your coffins, whether it be for pies or tarts. Then you may put saffron and sugar if you will have it a sweet paste. Having respect to the true seasoning some use to put to their paste beef or mutton broth, and some cream.(The Good Huswifes Iewell, 1596)

1 1/2 cups white flour
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons cream
6 threads saffron
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Beat together egg yolks, butter, and cream. Work flour into egg mixture until dough is a uniform consistency. Roll out as needed; sprinkle bottom of crust with saffron and sugar before filling.
Makes a double 9-inch crust.

Bake pie crust blind for 20 minutes or until brown. Sprinkle bottom of crust with saffron and sugar, then fill with plum mixture. Serve room temperature or cool.

What worked: This was awfully tasty and a good use for a period breed of plum. It was similar to (but not identical) to the Bolas recipe that

ppfuf made for Bardic. The cinnamon tasted somewhat overwhelming when warm but not when the plum goo cooled.

I made tartlets instead because I thought that they would be easier to eat. Good thing too, because:

What didn't: This made about half what would be needed to fill a 8-9" pie crust.

Will I make it again? Certainly. I plan to bring these tartlets for dinner at Crown.

Tartlets of Damsons