Fig and date tart with cumin-chocolate syrup recipe
This tart uses my favourite type of pastry, made with cream cheese. It is wonderfully light, flaky and buttery, and melts in the mouth.
Furthermore, cream-cheese pastry is infinitely versatile and the quickest pastry you can make – I promise. There is no baking blind or tart tin required, so there is no excuse not to make all manner of beautiful tarts.
Ingredients
- 250 g butter, at room temperature
- 300 g full-fat cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 300 g plain flour
- 1 egg yolk, for glazing
- 8.8 oz butter, at room temperature
- 10.6 oz full-fat cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 10.6 oz plain flour
- 1 egg yolk, for glazing
- 8.8 oz butter, at room temperature
- 10.6 oz full-fat cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 10.6 oz plain flour
- 1 egg yolk, for glazing
- 6 to 8 firm fresh figs
- 12 to 18 Medjool dates, stones removed
- 1 cup Demerara sugar, to sprinkle
- 6 to 8 firm fresh figs
- 12 to 18 Medjool dates, stones removed
- 1 cup Demerara sugar, to sprinkle
- 6 to 8 firm fresh figs
- 12 to 18 Medjool dates, stones removed
- 1 cup Demerara sugar, to sprinkle
- 100 g golden caster sugar
- 15 g cumin seeds
- 200 g 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces
- 3.5 oz golden caster sugar
- 0.5 oz cumin seeds
- 7.1 oz 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces
- 3.5 oz golden caster sugar
- 0.5 oz cumin seeds
- 7.1 oz 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces
Details
- Cuisine: English
- Recipe Type: Dessert
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 30 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- With a wooden spoon, mix together the butter, cream cheese and vanilla until smooth and fully incorporated. Gradually mix in the flour until a paste is formed; use a food mixer if this becomes heavy work. Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and refrigerate for 2 hours until set and quite firm.
- Put plenty of plain flour on your surface, then divide your dough into 4 larger pieces or 6 more modest-sized pieces and roll each to 5mm thick. Use a saucer or metal cutter to create your round shape.
- Brush each disc with egg, then roll one section of the perimeter in to form a rolled edge, then turn the disc a third of a turn and roll again, then repeat for the final side. This forms the sides of your three-point tart. Brush with the remaining egg yolk and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
- To make the filling, trim the figs and cut in half. Remove the stones from the dates. Place one fig half, cut side up, in each corner of a tart and a date between each fig half. Sprinkle liberally with demerara sugar and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and crisp.
- For the chocolate syrup, bring 100ml water, the sugar and cumin seeds to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes until the cumin has infused the syrup fully. Strain the seeds out and blend with the chocolate in a bowl.
- Serve the tarts warm or at room temperature with the cumin-chocolate syrup drizzled over the top.
Recipe taken from Adventures with Chocolate by Paul A Young (Kyle Books, £14.99) Photography: Anders Schonnemann.
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