fig tart recipe

Here at MFCH we are very lucky to have a small but multi-talented team, each member of the team with their own speciality.   Emily is a  great photographer, Alice has a gift for writing and Ally is a talented communicator. If you have ever been on one of our tours, then you’ll know Molly’s name, and you’ll be aware of her gift for getting everything organised and running smoothly, but you may not know that she is also a trained pastry chef, and that few things make her happier than baking! Today she is kindly sharing a recipe for a very seasonal fig tart – let us know if you try this at home!  And if you want to see more of her baking, or even take a pastry class, then you can check out her website here.

Over to Molly…

I love baking with each season. It’s a way to get excited when new produce and flavors arrive. When autumn arrives, I start looking for figs for fig tarts. I’m lucky to have a farmers market near me where the stands I visit feature fruits and vegetables direct from the men and women that grow them. Every Saturday I run down our three flights of stairs, market bag in hand to the square around the corner dominated by a huge Cathedral on one end. Lining the square the stands are always buzzing with people- the busiest time being around 11am as the French enjoy a grasse matinée (sleeping in). That and at 12:30pm sharp the vendors start packing up to leave as the city comes by at 1pm on the dot to clean the square from the morning activities!

I have two favorite stands, the gorgeous flower stall overflowing with color and textures where the bouquets are opulent and only run around 15€ – a beautiful weekly addition to our traditional Versallaise apartment. The other favorite, it’s right across the row, a family-run farm where the fruits and vegetables are sold from the wooden crates they are collected in. With the change in weather, the first part of the stand was covered in different kinds of apples and bottles of hand-pressed apple-pear juice. My eyes eagerly scanned the rest of the display, looking for more autumn wonders to appear with the quick change of weather that’d happened just a few days earlier. There at the end, a couple barquettes of figs- which I immediately snapped up and started dreaming of ways to use.

Figs pair beautifully with hazelnut and cinnamon in this fig tart recipe. The base is a simple sweet tart dough with hazelnut cream baked in for a buttery nutty base. On top, the figs shine with a little fig jam, and fresh figs floating on top with a dash of cinnamon whipped cream. This recipe makes five individual fig tarts but would be beautiful as one large tart as well.

Fig Tart Recipe

Fig Tarts

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Serves: 5-6

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.1/5

( 8 voted )

Ingredients

• ---For the tart crust---
• 40g (1/3 cup) powdered/confectioners sugar
• 25g (1/4 cup) ground hazelnuts
• 125g (1 cup) all purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• vanilla powder or extract
• 70g (5 tbls) unsalted butter, cubed
• 25g egg (about half an egg)
• ---For the hazelnut cream---
• 25g (1/4 cup) powdered/confectioner sugar
• 25g (2 tbls) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 25g (1/4 cup) ground hazelnuts
• 25g egg (the other half of the egg)
• Fig jam
• Fresh Figs
• ---For the whipped cream---
• 100 ml (1/2 cup) heavy whipping cream
• 2 tbls powdered/confectioners sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

Start with the tart crust, by mixing together all ingredients in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment just until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.

During this time, make the hazelnut cream. Cream the powdered sugar and butter together in a bowl (by hand or with a mixer). Then add the ground hazelnuts mixing to combine, and then the egg.

Roll out the dough and use to form 5 individual tarts or one large tart. Divide the hazelnut cream between the tarts, spreading a thin layer on the bottom of each formed tart shell (about 1 tbls per tart).

Bake at 325F/165C for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Cut the figs into quarters and whip the cream with the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Transfer to a piping bag, if you wish.

Once the tarts are cool to the touch, spread the top with fig jam and then arranging the fresh figs on top, about 3 per tart depending on their size. Top the fresh figs with a dollop of whipped cream and if you'd like, another fig quarter.

These are best eaten the same day they are created, but will be fabulous the following day as well. Enjoy!

Pin this recipe to Pinterest to save it to bake later.

For other autumn recipes, try Sharon’s pear and caramel tart.