I don’t have penis envy at all but I do have fig tree envy. That is, anyone who has ever had a fig tree in their backyard where you can pluck a fresh, juicy, heavy fig and eat them to your heart’s content, I am terribly envious of you. So please know that when you tell me about your fig tree, be prepared as I’m likely to drop around to your place.
I call this a sophisticated cheesecake really with the figs and goat’s cheese and it’s slightly less sweet cheesey creamy interior. When figs are in season (early Autumn i.e. now!), they’re luscious and plentiful and less likely to break the bank. Goat’s cheese will always break the bank slightly at $8 for 100grams at my local shops but you can always use cream cheese if you want to.
You should not underestimate the reaction when you bring this to the table, it’s a visual feast for the eyes with the fluted, golden buttery crust, pink and green hued figs and luscious fig conserve giving the whole tart a dreamy delectability.
Goat’s Cheese tart with figs
Serves 12
- 1 tablespoon sultanas
- 125ml brandy
- 1 sheet sweet shortcrust pastry to fit 28cmsx 3cms tin (I used a biscuit base much like a regular cheesecake ie pulverise 300g biscuits in a food processor, then add 80grams butter and pulse until combined)
- 2 eggs (at room temp)
- 200g goat’s cheese
- 2 tablespoons castor sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 pinch salt
- 200ml double cream
- zest of 1 orange
- ripest figs (I used 6 so that I bought get an even number of large pieces around the outside but you could get away with 4 if that’s not a concern)
- icing sugar (optional)
- fig conserve (I used Bonne Maman)
1. Steep sultanas in brandy. Make pastry then line a 28cms wide x 3 cms deep flan tin and bake blind
2. Reset oven to 180c. Separate eggs, put egg yolks, goats’ cheese and 1 T of castor sugar into a food processor and scrap in seeds from split vanilla bean, then pulse scraping down the sides after a few seconds, until combined.
3. Start whisking egg whites with salt in a warm, clean and dry bowl, then gradually ‘rain’ in remaining sugar, whisking to soft peaks. Gently fold in pureed cheese mixture, cream, drained sultanas and orange zest until no streaks remain then pour into prepared pastry shell.
4. Bake for 40 minutes until golden, then allow tart to cool to room temperature. You may like to dust the tart with icing sugar and tear figs in half to sit alongside a serving or you can arrange sliced figs decoratively in top and glaze them with some warmed jam.
From Let it Simmer by Sean Moran
8 Comments | Add your own
That looks absolutely delicious!
Ahh there’s nothing more eye-catching than a blog post that opens with the word penis in the first sentence. lol. Esp since figs are supposed to be very sexually suggestive in themselves
That tart does look amazing though
I have acute fig tart envy!
Hi Popeye-Why thankyou very much!
Hi Helen-LOL Yes well you don’t often see the word penis on a food blog I suppose!
*sigh* I keep encouraging my parents to grow a fig tree as we have no garden. So far no luck, when I gave them a slice of this tart they said “Oh is this kiwifruit?”
This has to be THE dessert to impress your guests. It looks stunning! The photography as always is beautiful. I love fresh figs and the house I lived in prior to this one HAD a fig tree! We moved in totally oblivious to the fact.. then one day I went into the backyard and saw figs all over the ground! It actually made me cry! I then noticed a kumquat tree in the front yard! I love cumquats squeezed over fish and rice with soy sauce!
What did this gorgeous tart taste like?
That is one gorgeous looking tart!
Is it completely odd that I’ve never eaten figs? I think I will need to use this recipe as an opportunity for me to taste figs for the first time
u left the cheese out of the recipe
can this recipe be made with blue cheese? i think blue cheese tastes nicer with figs…mmmm….
this is absolutely stunning and i bet has a taste to match! i’m suddenly craving for figs and ho hum…being in the midst of winter i have a long time to wait to get some!
Hi Maria-Why thankyou. It is such a beautiful cake with all of the colours that even the most hardened curmudgeon would perk up at the sight of it.
I definitely have fig envy of you now especially since you had figs and cumquat. I’ve never eaten them over fish and rice with soy sauce-sounds very interesting, must try that thanks!
The tart was very smooth and cheesy with the cool luscious figs on top and fig glaze giving the cheese filling sweetness whilst the orange rind and brandy soaked sultanas giving it depth.
Hi Kel-I hadn’t tasted figs until I was in my 20s so you’re not alone! We never ate them growing up as my parents never even knew what they were (hence my dad mistaking it for kiwifruit
). A fig is great alone, skin and all or with blue cheese and proscuitto or baked with honey and a dollop of thick cream. The key is to get a nice ripe heavy one, if they feel light, then they’re not luscious. I’d love to know what you think! 
Hi Blythe-I did didn’t I. Its in there now- 200g of goat’s cheese. A mild blue cheese like a Danish blue mixed with goat’s cheese would be very good but I think a full bodied blue cheese might be too much.
Hi airy fairy-Thanks so much!
I do get fig cravings like you during fig-less seasons. I wish they could be frozen or preserved in a way that’s a bit healthier than jam!
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