Every year around this time I make the short, twenty-minute drive back to my parents’ house.
They probably assume I visit because I’m a devoted daughter, stopping by to see them “one last time” before the hectic school year begins.
But if we’re being honest (and when aren’t we?), I go for the figs.
I grew up with two fig trees in our backyard and didn’t realize how rare and prized fresh figs were until college, when few people I knew had ever tasted them. Reading food blogs made their status clear—suddenly figs were coveted ingredients everywhere.
That’s how my informal career as a fig thief began.
This past Sunday felt like the perfect day to make my move.
After an IKEA run with my brother and discussing dinner plans with my mom—during which I once again reminded her that chicken is not vegetarian—I wandered the backyard with casual nonchalance.
Before I knew it I was standing beneath the fig trees. Coincidence? Fate? Our yard is too small for grand theories, but I’ll take whatever explanation sounds romantic. You decide.
Sadly, this year I managed to scavenge just a single fig, likely because Hurricane Irene took a toll on the trees.
(My parents insisted there was no water damage to the house—apparently they forgot to check the fig trees.)
It was a disappointment. I may or may not have shed a few inconsolable tears.
Fortunately, street vendors have been selling figs in two-pint specials, and I’ve been buying them by the boxful. One of the first things I made with this year’s haul—after eating a whole box plain—was a fresh fig and strawberry tart. I bookmarked this recipe when I bought Martha Stewart’s Pies and Tarts cookbook earlier this year, and it was absolutely worth the wait.
The tart is filled with a hazelnut frangipane–style cream, giving it both a nutty and fruity character. It’s the kind of dessert you catch yourself nibbling by the slice every time you pass the kitchen table. I’m pretty sure small tastings don’t count as calories, so feel free to slice liberally.
Fresh Fig and Strawberry Tart
Makes one 10-inch tart, adapted from Martha Stewart’s Pies and Tarts Cookbook
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups spelt flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt (for crust)
- 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (for crust)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
- 3/4 cup blanched hazelnuts, toasted
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp salt (for filling)
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (for filling)
- 2 tbsp amaretto or cognac
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
- 8 oz figs, trimmed and halved lengthwise
- 8 oz strawberries, halved if large
Instructions
- Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt until combined. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture and pulse until it just starts to hold together; it should not be wet or sticky. If the dough is too dry, add more water one tablespoon at a time and pulse. Press the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about one hour or overnight.
- On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 14-inch circle. Fit it into a 10-inch tart pan, pressing it into the bottom and up the sides. Trim excess dough flush with the edge and refrigerate until firm, about one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prick the bottom of the tart shell with a fork and fill with pie weights, dried beans, or rice. Blind-bake for 30 minutes. Remove the weights and bake until set, about 5 more minutes. Let cool slightly and leave the oven on.
- Prepare the filling: Pulse the toasted hazelnuts in the food processor until finely chopped. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and 1/4 tsp salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter, amaretto, eggs, and vanilla, and pulse until the mixture is almost smooth.
- Spread the filling evenly into the pre-baked tart shell. Arrange the fig halves and strawberries on top. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and bake until the filling is set and the top is a deep golden brown, about one hour more. Let cool and serve, optionally garnished with whipped cream.
I’m submitting this tart to Bake with Bizzy!