Delicious fig tart made with a buttery crust, delicate pistachio frangipane, and juicy fresh figs (frangipane is just a simple cream made with ground nuts). This tart is really easy to make and will impress you with its taste. First, you need to pre-bake the crust, then spread the pistachio cream over it, put the figs on top and bake again. Really simple! It tastes wonderful, so make sure to try it when fresh figs are in season!
What is frangipane?
Frangipane is a French pastry cream made with ground nuts, butter, sugar, and eggs. Although its name sounds complicated, it’s very simple to make! You just have to beat softened butter with eggs and sugar, then add ground nuts of your choice. Usually, ground almonds are used, but any other ground nuts will do.
Ingredients:
You can use any other ground nuts to make frangipane. Almonds and hazelnuts would work well. You can also use other fresh fruit like plums.
I love pistachio flavor paired with fresh figs but there are also many other flavor combinations that would be amazing here, like: almond and pear, almond and apricots, hazelnuts and plums.
What figs are best: for this tart, the best will be ripe and juicy figs, they will be more sweet but also their skin will be more soft. Just try to buy softer to the touch figs. Try to avoid unripe or overripe figs. Overripe figs will turn mushy and won’t hold their shape after being baked – the tart won’t look so pretty but it will still be very good.
How to make fig tart step by step:
STEP 1: Start with making the dough.
I prefer to make it in my stand mixer but you can also make it by hand or in a food processor. Mix the flour with powdered sugar and butter until a crumble forms, then add the cold water and mix until smooth dough forms.
Put the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
STEP 2: Make the frangipane:
Beat the soft butter with sugar, then with egg. Add the ground pistachios at the end.
Place the cream in the fridge.
STEP 3: Blind-bake the dough:
Line the tart pan with the dough. I’m usually doing this just with my fingers, you can help yourself with a bottom of a measuring cup to make the bottom of the tart more even. You can also roll out the dough and transfer it to the pan.
Next, place a piece of parchment paper over the dough and put some weights on top. They can be professional ceramic weights or just dry rice and beans that you can also reuse multiple times. Bake the tart crust for about 20 mins with the weights and then about 10 mins without them. The reason to use weights is to retain the shape of the walls of the tart. Without the weights, the edges of the tart would be flat and you won’t have the place for the filling.
STEP 4: Bake the tart:
After the pastry crust has been baked, leave it to cool slightly (you can cut the figs into 8 parts in the meantime), spread the pistachio cream over it, and place the figs on top (press them slightly into the cream). Bake until the cream is set.
Enjoy!
How to know when it’s ready:
The cream should be set which means it shouldn’t jiggle in the middle if you shake with the pan, but it should be moist/little wet. Baking time may be different for you, as every oven bakes differently. If your cream is starting to burn, just reduce the temperature a little and cover the tart loosely with aluminum foil, bake until the cream is set.
Storage:
This tart tastes also very good the next day. Wrap it tightly in plastic foil and store for 2-3 days (I stored it outside the refrigerator but it’s surely more safe to store it in the fridge).
Other fig recipes:
Fig tart with pistachio frangipane
Ingredients
→ pastry crust:
- 1⅓ cup (175g/6.2-oz) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- ½ cup (115g/4oz) cold butter
- ¼ cup (30g/1-oz) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons cold water
→ pistachio cream (frangipane):
- 1 cup (100g/3.5-oz) ground pistachios
- ⅓ cup (75g/2.6-oz) soft butter
- ½ cup (100g/3.5-oz) granulated sugar
- grated zest of 1/4 lemon optional
- 1 large egg
→ additionally:
- 4-5 figs cut into 8 wedges
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Instructions
pastry crust:
- Making the crust by hand: mix the flour with powdered sugar together, add the cold diced butter, rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles a pea-sized crumble, add cold water, knead quickly until dough forms a smooth ball (be careful not to over mix it).
- My favorite way – using a stand mixer: add flour, powdered sugar, and diced cold butter to the mixing bowl. Mix at the smallest speed using a paddle-shaped attachment, until large lumps are formed (they can be of different sizes, 0.5-1.5 cm), add cold water and mix until a smooth dough is formed (be careful not to overmix it).
- In the food processor: Add the flour, powdered sugar, and diced cold butter to the food processor bowl (with the regular blade attached). Pulse 2-3 times until the butter pieces are the size of large peas (they can be of different sizes). Add cold water and pulse until the dough begins to come together (be careful not to overmix it). Transfer the dough pieces onto a work surface, and gather them with your hands, forming a dough ball.
- All methods: flatten the dough, wrap in plastic foil, and put in the fridge for 1 hour.
Pistachio cream (frangipane):
- Using a mixer beat the butter with sugar, and lemon zest (if using) for about 2 minutes (if the butter is cold, you have to beat it first to soften it a bit, then add the sugar and beat together).
- Add the egg, mix well, then add the ground pistachios, and mix well until combined.
- Put the cream in the fridge.
Baking:
- Preheat the oven to 190 °C / 375 °F / Gas Mark 5.
- Prepare a 23 cm / 9-inch tart pan.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator, roll out the dough until it's large enough to fit into the tart pan (on a sheet of baking paper), transfer the dough to the pan, press it into the corners (the dough should cover the bottom and ca. 2.5 cm / 1-inch of the sides of the pan), cut off any excess dough. You can also press the dough with your hands into an even layer on the bottom and the sides of the pan with your hands, without rolling it out. Put in the fridge while the oven warms up.
- Blind-bake the dough: prick the dough with a fork, line with a sheet of baking paper, and fill to the top with dry beans / rice (or ceramic baking weights), pressing them into the corners and sides.
- Bake the pastry crust for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and the beans and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the crust is lightly golden.
- Spread the frangipane cream evenly on the dough, arrange the fig wedges on top, press them lightly into the cream.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the frangipane is set (you can shake the tart pan, it shouldn‘t jiggle in the center). Check on the tart after about 20 minutes, if the cream is browning too quickly you can cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.
- Cool the tart slightly, cut into portions and serve, you can sprinkle it with chopped pistachios.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use other nuts instead of pistachios, for example, ground almonds or hazelnuts.
- 1 cup loosely packed ground pistachios = 100g/3.5 oz = 7/8 cup shelled whole pistachios = 200g/7oz pistachios in shells.
- Calories = 1 serving (1/8 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
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