Fig and Frangipane Tart

One of my favourite things in my back yard is the fig tree my family planted when my parents first bought the house. I remember being amazed that one could grow a tree by just breaking a branch off another one and sticking it in the ground! 

First of the many figs this year

Thanks to the heavy rain over the past couple of weeks, we have had a bountiful harvest. We had so many that we couldn't eat them fast enough and gave many away. I used the ones that were almost too ripe for a fig and frangipane tart that I had been wanting to try for a while.

Made from a mixture of ground almonds, frangipane is a beautifully rich and nutty filling which goes so well in tarts - especially when roasted fruit is also involved. 

This fig and frangipane tart is a fairly easy dessert if you use store-bought pastry. If you can't get figs where you are, stone fruit make an equally tasty substitute.


Fig and Frangipane Tart



Ingredients:

300g sweet short crust pastry 
8 ripe figs
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons runny honey
200g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
200g ground almonds
2 medium sized egg yolks

Method:

1. Roll out pastry to 0.5cm thick and line a 25cm shallow, loose bottomed tart tin. Make sure the pastry reaches above the sides as the pastry will shrink during baking. Place the lined tin in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. While the pastry is chilling, preheat the oven to 180C.
3. Mix together the orange juice and honey until combined in a wide shallow dish. 
4. Cut the figs in half (lengthways) and place them cut side down into the orange and honey mixture and leave them to marinate until the tart shell is ready. 
5. Prick holes in the base of the pastry with a fork, line with baking paper and fill with baking beads. Blind bake for 15 minutes. 
6. Remove the paper and beans and bake for another 10 minutes until the pastry is a light golden brown. Remove the pastry from the oven and reduce the temperature to 150C. Leave the tart shell on the bench to cool.
7. Cream butter and sugar in a mixer until smooth. Mix in ground almonds, egg yolks and 1 Tablespoon of the orange and honey mixture.
8. Once the tart shell is cooled, fill with the almond mixture and spread evenly.
9. Press the figs, cut side up, into the filling and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until the filling becomes lightly golden. Leave the tart in the tin for 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
10. Serve with a nice cup of tea and a small dollop of cream.