Cook down until nice and soft, almost mushy but still intact.

I love visiting kitchens that aren't mine and most of all I love it when people cook things up for me. This week I had the pleasure of visitng Corinne's new home and we christened her kitchen with a tiramisu aux mirabelles.

I told you in my last post that I couldn't get enough of mirabelles. I also couldn't forget the tiramisu aux fraises that Corinne once made for me. Mirabelle season is in full swing and they are sold everywhere at the moment. So when Corinne offered to make tiramisu aux mirabelles I thought aloud, "ooh, how could I refuse a beautiful invitation—double ooh—I never even thought of a recipe like this!"

For her recipe she used liqueur de mirabelle which she made herself. I missed out on the "making of " this liqueur so I simply replaced it with Grand Marnier which I found much subtler than the liqueur de mirabelle. I'm not a huge liqueur fan when it comes to mixing it with sweets but that's just personal taste.

Corinne, being her gracious, gorgeous, red-headed self was not satisfied with the overall presentation of the dessert. It did not give off the tantalizingly delicious effect she expected but au contraire, I can tell you it certainly was delish.

Hours later enjoying the fruit of her success.

Her tip: try using non-transparent individual jars or glasses to fill your tiramisu and add some edible colorful flower or herb to give it that "pop!" to the eye for those special guests you want to impress.

Tarte aux Mirabelles

INGREDIENTS//Serves 6

• 400 grams mirabelle, destoned
• 30 grams butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier liquor (optional)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 sachets vanilla sugar
• 375 grams mascarpone
• 20 cl heavy whipping cream (keep it in the refigerator until you use it)
• 6 madeleines

INSTRUCTIONS

Melt the butter in a medium size pan over low heat. Add the mirabelles and cook it over low heat for three minutes and then add the sugar.

Keep cooking the mirabelles until they soften up and caramelize. Add the Grand Marnier.

When the mirabelles are nice and mushy (similar to the texture of an over riped fruit) turn off the heat and let it cool.

Pass it through a sieve to collect the liquid. Set it aside.

To prepare the cream filling first whip your cream.

In a small mixing bowl add the heavy cream (it should be cold, right out of the fridge). Use a hand mixer and begin to whip increasing the speed until medium. Continue whipping until the cream stiffens. It should take about eight to ten minutes. Set it aside.

In another medium size mixing bowl combine the egg yolks and the vanilla sugar. Then add the mascarpone and mix well.

Add in half the liquid you strained from the cooked down mirabelles and slowly add in the whipped cream mixing by hand. Combine well.

Save the other half of the liquid to coat your madeleines. Set it aside.

You can use individual dessert jars or a small pan for your tiramisu.

Begin with a layer of madeleine, a layer of the cream, a layer of the mirabelles, and finish with a layer of cream.

Cover it up and place it in the refigerator to chill for at least 3 hours. Take it out when ready to serve.

At the farmer's market you'll find an abundance of these lttle darlings, mirabelles. It's the season and they are everywhere. Apparently the etymology of mirabelle means "wondrous beauty".

These cherry tomato size plums are flavorful, delicate, and sweet. They hail from Lorraine, the north-eastern region of France and they are nowhere to be found in the U.S.A. because they have a protected origin designation that makes it impossible to import them. So, they are banned from the U.S. which is why I was deprived of these wondrous beauties in my youthful years.

These plums don't have a high liquid content so they are perfect for dessert pies and jams. This is an easy, "impress your Amercian friends and guests" kind of dessert.

Tarte aux Mirabelles

INGREDIENTS//Serves 6

Pâte Brisée (pastry crust)
• 220 grams of flour
• 110 grams of unsalted butter, cut up and just out of the fridge
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 50 ml water

Fruit Filling
• 500 grams of ripe mirabelles, halved and destoned
• 1/2 sachet of vanilla sugar (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

To prepare the pastry crust use a medium size mixing bowl and sieve the flour and cinnamon powder into it.

Then knead in the pieces of butter so that you have pieces that resemble coarse breadcrumbs.

Add some water into the mixture and keep on kneading gently until you can roll the dough into a ball.

On a flat surface add some flour and roll out the ball of dough with a rolling pin to fit a 23 cm (9 inch) tart mold.

Pat the the pastry into the round mold carefully pressing in the sides. Cut away any excess dough and use it fill gaps in round.

Wrap the dough lined mold in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for an hour.

Prick the dough all over with the tips of the fork.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and line the dough with some baking sheet paper and baking beans or use rice to weigh down the pastry dough.

Preheat the over to 160°C (320° F) and place the pastry in the oven and pre-bake for 10 minutes. Remove the baking beans and baking sheet paper and you should have a biscuit like texture.

Once your pastry is pre-baked, starting from the outside of the mold arrange the mirabelles face up and back to back working inwards.

Sprinkle vanilla sugar over it and pop it back in the oven for another 30 minutes at 200° C (390° F).

The mirabelles will have softened and caramelized, and will have a glistening shine.

Cut into equal parts and serve warm or cold.