It’s the 3rd Birthday (week) of The Triangle Plate! With all the figs around the past few weeks, it’s hard to resist buying loads of them, but then there’s the pressure of either eating them quickly or doing something with them as they don’t keep for long. This is a dessert that I have always wanted to make. Mostly because it’s eye-candy. And I love figs! But I don’t really keep crème fraîche on hand, and red-currant jam is not exactly common in Colorado. So, there I was with lots and lots of figs, but I wasn’t going to waste time running out for special ingredients. I decided I’d make do with what I had, and a couple of easy substitutions worked like a charm. This is really so much easier than you would expect, and it’s a festive end to a good meal with friends.

Fig Tart

recipe adapted from The Best of Martha Stewart Living Desserts

Ingredients:

• one recipe pastry dough HALVED
• 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (or crème fraîche)
• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp. confectioner/baking sugar
• 1 pint, plus, figs of your choice, stemmed and quartered
• 1/4 cup strawberry jam (or red-currant jam)
• 2 Tbsp. red wine, or rosé (I used some random Italian Rosato I found in the door of the fridg)

Preparation:

1. Roll out pastry dough on a floured surface and fit into a 10 inch tart pan, trimming edges and tucking in for a finished look.
2. Poke holes in the base of the pastry, cover with parchment, fill with pie weights, and bake at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes, until just golden.
3. Cool pastry crust completely, remove ring, and transfer to a serving platter.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer (Cuisinart food processor), beat cream cheese until smooth. Add the heavy cream, and confectioner’s sugar, and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
5. Spread filling into the cooled crust and arrange figs on top, pressing them down just slightly.
6. Combine the jam and wine in a small saucepan. Set pan over medium-high heat, and bring liquid to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture is thick and syrupy, about 2 minutes. Let glaze cool slightly. Using a pastry brush, brush the glaze over the figs. Serve, or keep refrigerated until ready to serve.