Pâte sucrée (Grolet)
- 115 g butter, softened
- 70 g icing sugar
- 25 g almond or hazelnut powder
- 1 g salt
- 45 g eggs
- 190 g flour T65
- 60 g potato starch
Crème d'amande
- 65 g butter, softened
- 65 g caster sugar
- 65 g almond powder
- 65 g eggs (1 egg — weigh it, use same weight for all)
Fig confit
- 400 g figs (~10 figs)
- 100 g caster sugar
- 8 g pectin NH
Mi-cooked figs (decoration)
- 5 figs
- 50 g caster sugar
Vanilla nappage
- 100 g neutral nappage
- 1 vanilla pod
The figs do three jobs in this tart: the confit layer provides concentrated sweetness and jammy texture beneath the cream; the mi-cooked figs on top add fresh structure; and the arrangement gives the tart its visual character. The crème d'amande absorbs the fig juices during baking and the two become a single layer by the time it comes out of the oven.
Method
Pâte sucrée
- Paddle butter with icing sugar, almond powder, and salt in a stand mixer. Emulsify with egg. Add flour and starch, mix until just homogeneous. Film as a disc and rest minimum 4 hours in the fridge.
- Roll to 3mm. Line a 20cm ring, pressing firmly into edges. Freeze minimum 2 hours. Blind bake at 165°C for 30 minutes. Cool.
Harmonise edges with a microplane if needed. Brush with syrup or egg wash to seal if the shell looks porous.
Crème d'amande
- Weigh one egg — use that weight for all other ingredients. Beat butter with sugar, add almond powder. Gradually incorporate the egg until smooth. Do not aerate — the cream should be dense. Pipe into a pastry bag and rest in the fridge.
Fig confit
- Quarter the figs. Combine with sugar and pectin NH in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until jammy and thick — about 15 minutes. Cool completely before using.
The pectin NH gives a clean set that doesn't turn gelatinous. Do not use regular pectin.
Mi-cooked figs
- Halve the 5 decorative figs. Sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake cut-side up at 160°C for 8–10 minutes — they should soften and release some juice but hold their shape. Cool.
Assembly
- Pipe crème d'amande into the blind-baked shell — a 5mm even layer. Spread the cooled fig confit over the top.
- Bake at 165°C for 12–15 minutes until the crème d'amande is set and lightly coloured. Cool completely.
- Arrange the mi-cooked fig halves over the tart, cut-side up. Warm the neutral nappage with the scraped vanilla pod and brush over the figs.
Arrange the figs tightly — they shrink slightly as they cool. Glaze generously to get a clean finish.
Background
The fig confit is the structural layer that lifts the flavour of a plain crème d'amande tart into something more complex. Fresh figs alone on top of crème d'amande are underwhelming — they release water during baking and turn the cream soggy. The confit, being concentrated and already set, provides a stable base.
Pectin NH is the correct gelling agent here because it is thermally reversible — it sets cold and softens when warmed, which means the confit stays spreadable when applied to the warm tart. Standard jam pectin and gelatin do not behave the same way at room temperature.
The blind bake must be complete before filling. An underbaked shell absorbs moisture from the confit and crème d'amande and turns soggy within an hour. At 30 minutes at 165°C the shell should be pale gold throughout, not just at the edges.
Mistakes I've Made
- Fresh figs directly on the crème d'amande. They released water and made the cream wet. The confit layer is not optional — it seals the moisture.
- Fig confit still warm when layered. It sank into the crème d'amande and the two layers disappeared into one. It must be completely cold before assembly.
- Under-baking the shell. The bottom stays soft and collapses when the tart is unmoulded. Check that the bottom is fully set, not just the edges.
- Over-cooking the mi-cooked figs. They collapse and lose their shape on top. 8–10 minutes at 160°C is enough — pull them while they still look whole.
Sources
- Tarte aux Figues —