Fig and Hazelnut Tart
"Paris Picnic Club: More Than 100 Recipes to Savor and Share"
“The hazelnut cream in this tart is based on the recipe for classic French almond cream, which is traditionally made with a glug of rum. We also use toasted and ground hazelnuts because they pair so beautifully with figs.” –JBF Scholarship Recipient Shaheen Peerbhai; Author, Paris Picnic Club: More Than 100 Recipes to Savor and Share
The 2018 application period for JBF Scholarship Program is open! Applications are due May 15. Learn more and apply here.
Ingredients
Sweet Pastry Dough:
- 140 grams unsalted butter
- 90 grams confectioners’ sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 30 grams ground almonds
- 1 egg
- 240 grams all-purpose flour
Hazelnut Cream:
- 130 grams hazelnuts
- 125 grams unsalted butter
- 125 grams superfine sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 vanilla bean, split, and seeds scraped out
Figs:
- 10 ripe figs
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Egg Wash:
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon milk
Method
Make the sweet pastry dough: beat the butter until softened. Add the sugar, followed by the lemon zest and ground almonds.
Next, add the egg and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the sides, and mix again.
Finally, fold in the all-purpose flour and mix until just combined. Wrap the dough in plastic film and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Roll out the cold tart dough into a 10-inch circle. Keep the surface of the dough well floured.
Toast the hazelnuts in a preheated oven at 300°F until they turn a light golden brown, about 15 minutes. Using the palms of your hands, rub the skin off the hazelnuts in batches. Pulse the hazelnuts to a powder in a food processor.
Make the hazelnut cream: beat the butter until soft and then beat in the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and ground hazelnuts. Don’t beat the mixture too much—you want it to be smooth, not airy and fluffy from overbeating.
Make the egg wash: using a pastry brush, mix together the egg yolk and milk in a small bowl.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the hazelnut cream generously onto the dough, leaving a perimeter of about two fingers’ width around the outer edge of the dough. Slice the figs and fan them out in concentric circles over the hazelnut cream—starting from the outside in. Fold the edges over the figs and brush with egg wash Give it a generous sprinkling of sugar.
Put the tart into the oven and bake for about 45–50 minutes, until the hazelnut cream is golden brown and puffed up. Cool completely before slicing.
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Adapted from Paris Picnic Club: More Than 100 Recipes to Savor and Share (Sterling Epicure 2018).
Yield
6 servings
