So I did two adventurous things today: One – baked with figs, which I have never done before. And two – succumbed to my aversion for frangipane (fancy schmancy French name for a mixture of ground almonds, sugar, eggs and vanilla).
And as you can sense already, I was mighty pleased with the results! I made this fig tart for breakfast today and between the two of us, dad was the one who raced me to the last quarter.
I tried a new pie dough recipe this time from the Ottolenghi cookbook. It’s very similar to my regular pie dough recipe that you can use or instead pick your favourite pie dough recipe. Make sure to go through Pie Dough 101 for quick tips for the perfect pie crust. I used the frangipane recipe on Chez Pim and added half a vanilla bean to it – smelled so, so good (thanks to my reader D. who sent the beans to me all the way from Bangalore)! Once you have your dough rolled out, just spread out the frangipane on it and place the sliced figs in concentric circles. Then fold the edges in and crimp it up. A little bit of egg wash and a little bit of icing sugar dusted, it’s ready for the oven. Now bask in the sweet smell that envelopes the house for 40 minutes. Once ready, serve with a dollop of mascarpone cheese or a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream. Such an elegant dessert, but more than that it is a breakfast of the champions, indeed!
Fig Tart with Vanilla Scented Frangipane
Yield: 1 9 inch fig tart
Adapted from: Chez Pim
(Just 1/4th going to be here)
½ cup / 75g whole almonds
1/3rd cup / 75g sugar
75g butter
1 large egg
½ a vanilla bean
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Spread the almonds evenly on a baking sheet and place them in the oven. Roast them for about 10 minutes, or until slightly toasted and fragrant. Transfer to a plate and let cool to room temperature.
- Put the cooled almonds and the sugar into a food processor and process until fine. Add the butter and the egg and pulse until well-combined. Stir in the innards of the vanilla bean. If you don’t want to use it right away, divide the frangipane into four equal parts, wrap each tightly in plastic. They will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, and upto a month in the freezer.
1 9″ pastry dough
about 10 large figs or about 15 small ones
1/4 the recipe of frangipane above
Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
- Roll out your pastry dough to about 10-inch diameter. Prick a fork through it every inch or so apart.
- Place the dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Spread about 1/4 of the quantity of frangipane on the dough, leaving about 1 inch perimeter around the outer edge of the dough. Slice the figs and place them from outside inwards to form concentric circles to cover the frangipane.
- Fold the edges in, pinching a little to make sure they stick. Brush the dough with eggwash and give it a good shower of sugar. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the pastry edges are golden brown.