Fig Frangipane Tart

The season's almost done, but my market had a huge sale on kadota figs so I went a little crazy and bought 4 or 5 pints of them. I made Clotilde DuSoulier's fig ice cream, and then I made not one, but two fig-frangipane tarts. I justified this because I had two parties to go to; the first at my friends Chad & Cheryl's place, the second a farewell-surprise-party for my friend Nancy.

Nancy just moved to Spain and started this really sweet blog about what she's eating there. Nancy's one of the first friends I made when I moved to Portland, and one of my favorite people to eat with (we're talking many epic, gut-busting 3-hour meals). I knew Portland would be a little different, a little more subdued, once Nancy left. So what better way to bid adieu than with an extravagant fig tart?

When I worked at Flour, I OD'd on frangipane. It was in everything from the almond croissants to the twice-baked brioche. Frangipane is an almond custard, or pastry creme, which turns slightly cakey and oh-so-buttery once baked. The top takes on a pleasant crunch. As with many French pastry names, it's sounds much more difficult to make than it actually is, as it consists mostly of butter, sugar, eggs, and almonds. I was always intimidated of cooking with it at home, but as long as you've got a good food processor (or something similar that can give almonds a good blitz), you'll be in fighting shape. DISCLAIMER: Please be judicious when people come back around asking for second helpings of this tart as it can get pretty ugly.

Fig Frangipane Tart

adapted from a recipe by Jaime Oliver (yes, that Jamie Oliver)

This tart's original recipe was a bit more involved than I prefer, so I made a few adjustments. What I kept, however, was the lemony crust and the sprinkling of thyme on top to help bring out all the lusciousness that figs have to offer. The recipe below provides for two crusts, simply use half for one tart, and save the rest for later in the freezer (I like to freeze tart shells ahead of time).

INGREDIENTS:
12-15 whole fresh figs, washed
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. water
2 Sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
zest of 1/2 a lemon or orange

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SHORTCRUST PASTRY:* (see note above)
9 Tbs. cold unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
a small pinch of salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
zest of 1/2 a lemon
2 large egg yolks
2 Tbs. cold milk or water

INGREDIENTS FOR FRANGIPANE:
5 oz. blanched whole almonds
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
7 Tbs. granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 vanilla bean, scored lengthwise and seeds removed
1 Tbs. light rum or grappa (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Grease a 9-inch tart pan with a removeable bottom and set aside.
2. To make the pastry dough, cream together the butter, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor with a dough blade. (You can do this easily by hand, too). Add to this the flour, vanilla seeds. lemon zest, and egg yolks. Pulse until the mixture begins to look like coarse breadcrumbs. Add the cold milk or water, pulsing a few more times until you have a ball of dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat it into a ball. Don't overwork the pastry, it will get too elastic instead of remaining nice and flaky. Once the dough has come together, pat it into a disk, flour it, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place it into the fridge for at least an hour (can be made a day or two before). Remove the disc of dough from the fridge, roll it out, and line your tart pan. Place in the freezer for one hour (can be frozen like this up to a month in advance, if wrapped in plastic and foil).
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Bake the pastry shell for 12 minutes, or until it is lightly golden. Remove from the oven and turn the heat down to 325.
3. Make the frangipane by grinding 4 oz. of the almonds in a food processor with the sharp blade until it becomes a fine powder. Transfer this to a large bowl with the flour. Now beat the butter and sugar in the food processor until it becomes light and creamy. Add to this the almond and flour mixture, along with the lightly beaten egg, vanilla seed, and run. Fold in the mixture until completely smooth and incorporated. Place the frangipane in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up and set.
4. While you wait for the frangipane to set, remove the stems from the fresh figs. Score each one on the top in the shape of an X, then using your thumb, push up from the base to open the figs like little flowers.
5. Spoon the chilled frangipane mixture into the cooled pastry shell, then lightly arrange and push the figs into the frangipane with the score side up. Heat the tablespoon of sugar and water until dissolved and drizzle this syrup over the figs. Roughly chop the remaining 1 oz. of almonds and sprinkle over the top of the tart along with the thyme leaves and remaining lemon zest.
6. Bake the tart for about 40 minutes, until the frangipane has become firm and golden on the outside, while staying soft in the middle. For the last 5 minutes of baking time, I turned my oven back up to 350 to get that golden sheen on top. Allow the tart to cool for 30-40 minutes at least before serving.
7. Serve with a little creme fraiche or mascarpone, and sprinkle with cinnamon.
YIELD: 6-8 servings. Keeps for a day or two, but best eaten the same day.