Lots of us are cooking up a storm at the moment and comfort food seems to be the order of the day.

If you want to stretch your culinary wings a little, U3A Men’s Kitchen chef, Robert Wooler, has suggested this recipe for a delicious fruit tart.

Robert suggests that you may like to make it and share with other people who are isolated by leaving it on their door step.

Fig and almond tart

Enjoy this tart for afternoon tea or dessert with a little vanilla ice cream or cream. Other fruits work just as well (see the footnotes).

What you will need:  Sweet crust pastry, frangipane, figs, apricot jam, a little melted butter.

Heat an oven to 210deg.

Sweet Pastry
250g plain flour
125 g butter cold
80 g caster or icing sugar
1 egg yolk
1-2 tablespoons cold water

Rub the butter into the flour until all the lumps are gone and resemble breadcrumbs add the sugar and mix well.

Make a well and add the egg yolk and water to the flour and butter mix until just combined.
Do not over mix.

Form into a ball flatten slightly wrap in cling film and put into the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.

Frangipane
Frangipane is a basic sweet component for may cooked desserts like fruit tarts, Pithivier or Bakewell tart.

75g butter
75g caster sugar
1 egg
75g almond meal
40g SR flour

Simply cream the butter and sugar until light in colour beat in the egg and mix in the almond meal and flour.

 

Butter a suitable size flan tin, approximately 25cm. Roll out the pastry till 3 – 4 mm thick and wide enough to line the flan tin and carefully lay the pastry in tucking into the edges and around the sides carefully. Trim off the pastry using the rolling pin.

Dock (prick) the bottom with a fork.

 

 

 

 

 

Lightly spread with the apricot jam then roughly spread in frangipane.
Place figs cut in half into frangipane cut side up.

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

Pastry golden rules

Use cold ingredients, Do not over work the finished dough, only roll out what you need to use. Using more butter to flour ratio will make the pastry shorter.

Left over pastry

You may have a little leftover pastry – there are 3 things you can do with any left-over pastry
One: Throw it away!
Two: Make some little jam tarts or other small pastry or lid for a fruit pie straight away.
Three: Wrap in cling wrap and put into the fridge and a week later throw it away!!

Other fruits that work well

Poached pears or quince. Plums and apricots work well cut in half, cut side up place a blanched almond where the stone was for great presentation.

For the really professional look

Melt a tablespoon of apricot jam with a teaspoon or two of water and mix well to form a glaze and lightly brush over the top of the tart to give a shiny glaze.

Enjoy