Fresh Fig & Goat Cheese Tart

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This tart makes for an appetizer that you will first eat with your eyes before enjoying between your teeth. The combination of sweet figs and honey balance the richness of the cheese perfectly. A crisp & flaky tart pastry finishes off this delightful dish.

Prep Time: 10 min + 10 min to finish

Cook time: 15 min + 30 min

Yield: 1 9-inch tart

Ingredients

Tart Dough

• 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 tbsp granulated sugar

• 1/4 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 115g unsalted butter, grated

• 6 tbsp sour cream

• 2-4 tbsp cold water

Filling

• 150 g goat cheese

• 12-15 fresh figs

• 1/4 cup nuts, coarsely chopped

• 2 tbsp honey, warmed

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 425F.

2. In your stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Grate cold or frozen unsalted butter into the dry ingredients.

3. Mix on medium low speed until you obtain an evenly crumbly mixture, about 2 min. Do Not Overmix!

4. Add in the sour cream. Mix until the dough just begins to comes together. If it is still dry and crumbly, add in a tbsp of cold water and mix. Add one at a time until the dough holds together. Be careful!

5. Dust your workspace with an even sprinkling of flour and bring the dough out of the bowl and onto the counter.

6. Roll the dough into a flat circle big enough to fit your tart pan.

7. Press the dough into the tart pan bottom and work around towards the edges and up the sides. Trim the excess tart dough by running your rolling pin over the edges of the tart pan.

8. Line the crust in the pan with two layers of tin foil and cover with pie weights. *See Zhuzh*

9. Bake for 15 min in pre-heated 425F oven.

10. Remove the crust from the oven and reduce the temperature to 350F.

11. Crumble the goat cheese over the bottom of the tart and bake for an additional 30 min.

12. Wash your figs and cut off the stem. Then slice figs into quarters and set aside.

13. Remove the tart from the oven and arrange the sliced figs on top. Sprinkle with nuts and drizzle with warm honey.

14. Slice and serve.

Zhuzh it up!

• Baking a crust without filling in it is called blind baking. I've never bothered to purchase pie weights, instead I have a jar of black beans that I reserve just for this. They weigh down the dough so it doesn't puff up during the baking process.

• Any nut you like would work great with this, I chose walnuts because that's what I had in my pantry, but you could go with pistachios, pecans or even almonds!

• If goat cheese isn't your favourite, try this with a feta cheese. Just drizzle some olive oil over the feta before baking it to soften it up!

This amazing recipe was written by Erin Walker