Fresh Fig Tart

This Fresh Fig Tart is luscious and decadent and perfect for special occasions! Made with roasted figs, mascarpone cream, honey, goat cheese and rosemary. A delicious dessert you’ll fall in love with!

Wait to make this Roasted Fig Tart until you can get your hands on fresh ripe figs. Though not local to our area, figs are one of those irresistible fruits that are impossible for me to walk past when they show up at our grocery store each summer. Where I grew up in Southern California, fig-trees were a part of the everyday landscape. My next-door neighbor had a fig tree and each summer when they ripened, all of us neighborhood kids would sit around that tree and gorge on figs, like hungry little vampires.

This onion dish is super easy, except for one fiddly part: It calls for small onions or shallots, about 5 1/4 ounces each. Now, I don’t know about your supermarket, but for whatever reason, all of the ones I typically shop at carry only ginormous onions, many the size of a baseball. On the other hand, there’s no way I’ve seen any shallots anywhere near 5 ounces.

So, what to do? What to do?

After combing around, I was able to get my hand on some small-ish sized onions, though, they were still not as small as this recipe required. Instead, they were about 6 1/2 ounces each and roughly 3 inches in diameter.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS!

Fresh Figs! Fresh figs are sprinkled with brown sugar and fresh rosemary, then broiled in the oven until slightly caramelized. How delicious is that!

The creamy filling! This luscious creamy filling is made of whipped mascarpone, goat cheese (optional) and yogurt, vanilla and honey. I know the goat cheese may throw some of you off, but it truly works here. If you are skeptical, just use more mascarpone. You can also swap out the mascarpone and use cream cheese.

The Pate Sucree Crust! This sweet French shortcrust pastry is simply heavenly and goes perfectly with the figs and filling.

In our catering business, we often do a mini tart version of these in 3-inch tart pans (also very fun!) but today, I used a rectangle tart pan for a more different effect. A 9 or 10-inch round tart pan with a removable side, will work too.

HOW TO MAKE FIG TART

MAKE THE TART DOUGH

The French crust, called Pate Sucree, comes together easily and is blind baked in the tart pan first. I love this crust, not only for its buttery nutty taste and texture but also for its workability. The dough very forgiving because of the egg yolk! I normally make a double batch of the tart dough and save one in the freezer, double wrapped in plastic wrap, for another use. It’s nice to have one on hand for dessert emergencies! Make this in a food processor or stand mixer.

Roll out the dough using a rolling pin and lift into a 9-inch or 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom, patching up any cracks with the excess dough. Blind bake the crust with a piece of parchment paper and pie weights (or use dry beans) until golden. Let it cool on a wire rack.

 

ROAST THE FRESH FIGS

For this tart, the figs are cut in half and placed on a baking sheet lined with parchment, sprinkled with brown sugar and a few sprigs of rosemary, and broiled in the oven for just a few minutes until the sugar caramelizes.

MAKE THE CREAMY TART FILLING.

Whip up the room-temperature mascarpone or cream cheese with goat cheese adding the honey and yogurt in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. If you are a little unsure about adding goat cheese to a “dessert” tart, swap it out for more cream cheese. I love the goat cheese for the depth, hint of saltiness and tanginess- it adds a subtle dimension that foodies will enjoy.

 

ASSEMBLE THE FIG TART.

Fill the cooled baked crust with the filling and top with the figs. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

CHILL THE FIG TART

Sometimes I’ll drizzle a little balsamic glaze over the top, fig jam, or more honey. Lemon zest is nice too.

Store the fig tart in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Ingredients:

    Pate Sucree Tart Shell:

• 1/2 cup butter at room temp

• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour, or pasty flour

• 1 large egg yolk

Filling:

• 8 ripe figs, halved
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar (or sub honey)
• 3 rosemary sprigs
• 8 oz mascarpone cheese or cream cheese at room temp
• 4 oz goat cheese at room temp (or sub 4 oz. more mascarpone or cream cheese)
• 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2–3 tablespoons honey

Instructions:

Make the tart shell:

• Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy for 3 minutes, using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, stopping on occasion to scrape down sides and bottom. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed until fully incorporated about one minute. Add the egg yolk and continue to mix on low speed until the dough comes together about 30 seconds. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour (or up to 4 days).
• Remove tart dough from the refrigerator. Flour your work surface really well so the dough does not stick, and sprinkle the top of the dough with a little flour. With a rolling pin flatten to the desired shape. I used a 13 by 4-inch tart pan. A 9-inch or 10-inch round tart pan will work well too. Roll out dough, starting in the middle and rolling outward, to a 1/4 inch thick disk or rectangle, depending on your tart pan. Don’t worry if dough tears or crumbles, it’s easily patched or pressed together in the tart pan. Lift over the rolling pin and place in a tart pan with removable bottom. Patch holes or tears by pressing dough with fingers. Press dough into sides, corners and bottom. Roll the rolling pin over the top of the tart pin for a clean even edge.
• Refrigerate 30 minutes -this is important. Cover with parchment, and fill with pie weights or dry beans.
• Bake at 350F for 30 -40 minutes, positioned in the center of the oven, until edges are golden and delicious smelling. Remove weights and parchment, continue baking until perfectly golden, another 5 minutes or so. Let cool and remove tart ring.

Roast Figs: Place the halved figs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with a generous amount of brown sugar and a few leaves of rosemary. Broil just until sugar has caramelized, checking often as not to burn, about 5 minutes. If you don’t have a broiler, roast at 400F until tender and caramelized about 15-20 minutes.

Make the Creamy Filling: In a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, whip mascarpone or cream cheese with goat cheese until till creamy, scraping down the sides. Add yogurt, vanilla and honey. Taste, adding more honey to taste. Whip until silky smooth.

Assemble: Fill the cooled tart shell with the creamy filling and top with the roasted figs. Refrigerate at least one hour or overnight before serving. Drizzle with more honey if you like, or a balsamic glaze.