This classic French-style tart gets an figgy upgrade with this Fig and Almond Tart. With layers of figs two ways and a silky almond frangipane filling, this tart looks as impressive as it tastes. It’s the perfect late-summer dessert for your next dinner party with a foolproof shortbread crust.
Figs are beautiful jewels from provided by nature herself – a little sweet, a little sticky, and a little honeyed. They not only pair well with almond in this fig almond tart, but they also are a great combination with cheeses, like in this fig and ricotta cake or a fig and goat cheese flatbread.
Ingredients
This fig tart requires several pantry staples, but also maybe a few unique ingredients you may not have on hand. I did fine tune this recipe as I went, deciding the honey was not necessary, adjusting the amount of almond flour in the filling, and tweaking the sugar levels. But in the end, we have a great tart!
I won’t go through each and every ingredient here, but I do want to cover some of the highlights and discuss the whys and whats!
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar. I like to use both brown sugar and granulated in this shortbread crust, it deepens the flavor and makes the crust as great as the rest of the tart. For the almond cream (or frangipane) I use just granulated sugar for a traditional flavor.
- Almond flour. Almond flour is the base of our frangipane filling. Almond flour is finer in texture than almond meal. It also removes any skin of the almonds for a really lovely filling.
- Fresh figs. Absolutely use fresh figs in this recipe. You can use any variety you wish, I used black mission figs, just as long as they are not dried figs. Look for figs that are just slightly soft, but definitely not mushy or they will not stand up to baking. Remove the stems on top, but not the skins.
- Fig spread. This is different than fig preserves which is a little meh to me. Fig spread is gorgeous and very figgy (try it with a manchego cheese someday!) You can use either, but it is worth getting the fig spread – I usually find it with the fancy cheeses and not the jams and jellys.
- Turbinado sugar. This is optional, but I like to sprinkle a nice coarse sugar on top of the figs before baking to caramelize them. You can also sprinkle a bit of brown sugar on top if you don’t have turbinado on hand.
Helpful Tools
When making a tart, I recommend a few tools for success! Tarts are notoriously a bit complicated, but with these tools, you can have a picture perfect tart too.
- Removable-bottom tart pan. A pie dish is not the same. A metal tart pan is key here.
- Pie weights. Or dried beans. This will keep the crust in place while you pre-bake.
- Straight rolling pin. A straight rolling pin is by far my favorite style pin. One, because you can use it with the width guides I will link below, and two, because you can roll it over the top of the tart pan to perfectly trim the crust dough.
- Silicone rolling pin guides. Guides make life so much easier for keeping an even, thin dough when rolling.
Making a Fig Tart
This fig tart has four main elements – a shortbread crust, fig spread, almond cream (frangipane) and fresh fig topping.
Individually, each element is easy on its own, but it does make for a few steps to make this tart. The great thing is the dough and filling can be made in advance.
Shortbread Crust
This shortbread crust is more forgiving (and tastes better IMO) than traditional tart crusts. Simply combine everything in the food processor and let chill before rolling.
Roll the chilled dough into a 1/8″ disc large enough to cover the sides and bottom of your tart pan. Pat the dough into the corners and fluted edges with your finger tips until smooth. You can also patch or press together any splits in the dough if necessary.
Trim any excess off the top (I like to use a rolling pin and just roll over the top edge of the pan. It trims and smooths the dough on top.)
Pierce the bottom with a fork to prevent any poofing while baking.
Blind Baking
We are going to blind bake our crust which means we will bake the crust without a filling partially through. This is because the crust will not bake thoroughly with the wet filling, so if we bake it a bit first we will get a nice crisp crust all the way through.
To blind bake, place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough and fill the tin with dried beans or pie weights. Make sure to get the weights into the corners of the tin too.
Frangipane (almond cream)
For the frangipane, also known as almond cream, is a spreadable paste made mostly from almond flour, sugar and eggs.
Once baked, it puffs and sets up into a sliceable, rich almond filling.
To make it, I use the same food processor as the crust (ssshhh, I don’t even wash it first, all the ingredients are used again in the frangipane).
Once the tart is blind baked and cooled to the touch, spread on a generous amount of fig jam then the frangipane. The frangipane will puff, so it will only fill about 1/2 tart shell before baking.
Frangipane can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for two weeks, just make sure to let it come to room temperature before trying to spread it over the jam.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both the frangipane and crust dough can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. Let frangipane come back to room temperature. Once baked, this tart can be stored for up to two days at room temperature.
Yes! Swap the jam and fruit on top for your favorites – raspberry, blueberry and cherry are all great options.
Small tears can be pressed back together with warm fingertips. Larger holes can be patched with excess dough.
Don’t worry, frangipane is naturally grainy! When adding the eggs, the mixture will look very clumpy, and the final texture will be grainy due to the almond texture. It will be great once cooked!
Fig and Almond Tart
Equipment
- Food processor
- 9" tart pan with removable bottom
- Pie weights
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 113 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 75 g granulated sugar
- 26 g light brown sugar
- 1 large egg beaten, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 255 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Frangipane Almond Cream
- 99 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 2 large egg beaten, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 96 g almond flour
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Fillings
- 170 g fig spread
- 10-16 fresh figs stems removed and sliced in half lengthwise
- turbinado sugar optional
- sliced almonds optional
Instructions
- Shortbread crust. In the bowl of a food processor, blend together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape bowl as needed with rubber spatula.113 g unsalted butter, 75 g granulated sugar, 26 g light brown sugar
- Blend egg and vanilla extract. Add flour and salt. Pulse until dough is crumbly. Transfer dough to plastic wrap, shape into a disc, wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 255 g all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt
- Once dough is chilled, roll on a floured surface into a 1/8" circle, about 11" wide. Transfer to tart pan making sure to press the dough firmly into the corners and sides. Trim any excess from the top.
- Pierce the bottom of the dough all over with a fork. Place a sheet of parchment on top of the dough and fill with pie weights or dried, uncooked beans. Make sure weights get to the corners of the pan.
- Return the pan to the fridge while preheating the oven to 350°F (175°C). Once heated, blind bake the crust for 15-20 minutes until barely golden. Remove pie weights and parchment. If bottom of crust still looks greasy, return to the oven for 2 more minutes. Let tart shell cool to the touch before filling.
- Frangipane. While tart shell bakes, make frangipane. Using same food processor, blend butter and sugar until light and fluffy.99 g unsalted butter, 100 g granulated sugar
- Blend egg and almond extract. Add almond flour, all-purpose flours, salt and cinnamon. Blend until spreadable paste forms. Mixture will look slightly grainy.2 large egg, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 96 g almond flour, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Once tart shelled is cooled, smooth fig spread in a single layer across the bottom of the crust. Top with frangipane, smoothing into a flat layer. Frangipane should only fill the tart shell about 1/2 of the way up to allow for puffing.170 g fig spread
- Place figs, cut side up, in pleasing pattern on top of frangipane. Sprinkle turbinado sugar (or brown sugar) on figs. Place sliced almonds in the gaps on frangipane.10-16 fresh figs, turbinado sugar, sliced almonds
- Bake 35-40 minutes until frangipane is set and golden brown. Slice when cooled.
Notes
- Shortbread crust can be made and stored in the fridge two days in advance, or wrapped and frozen for up to three months. Defrost in the fridge before rolling.
- Frangipane can be made up to 2 weeks in advance. Allow to come to a spreadable, room temperature, consistency before using.
- Baked tart can be stored at room temperature for up to two days.
Disclaimer: We test all recipes using the metric weights shown, we cannot guarantee outcomes when switching to US measurements.
