“Figs aren’t actually fruits – they’re flowers that bloom inward”
I’m always looking for fig recipes to allow me to be creative with my father in laws yield. This was the last yield of the season so I thought it would be fun to create a celebratory fig tart. You can half these and make 12 small tarts, just cut the baking time.
The kids tried to figs raw, and I brought in some fig jelly I made, for them to try. They seemed to like to multi-colored nature of the fig, but for taste they preferred the figs when on the tarts. For adults I could have added some blue cheese or even prosciutto.
I love observing these kids and their different questions and skills. Some are curious about everything, the taste, the texture, the way you use the ingredients and others just like to cultivate a specific skill, like egg wash painting and the more artistic elements of cooking. It is fun to see the different passions hidden within the little chefs.
This is a simple recipe as it was designed for a kid’s class ages 5-9 years old. My kids come in hungry as it’s the end of school or soccer for some so to keep them satiated, I used the other piece of pastry to make pizza roles (pasta sauce, cheese, roll and slice) and it baked as we were preparing the fig tarts.
Ingredients:
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp. of water
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 6oz cream cheese, room temp
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1-pint figs (8-10)
- 1 tbsp. honey
Method
- Thaw puff pastry (c. 40-50 minutes)
- Preheat the oven to 400F
- Make an egg wash by whisking the egg with 1 tbsp. of water
- Combine the room temperature cream cheese with ¼ cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla in a small mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth and well combined
- Slice the figs into small circles, 1 cm thick, you should have 6 slices per fig.
- Open up the puff pastry once thawed. Use your rolling pin to lightly roll over the dough to level out creases
- Using a sharp knife to cut the pastry into 6 squares and place on parchment paper
- Spread 2 tbsp. of the vanilla cream cheese mix into the middle of the rectangle, leaving a border for the egg wash.
- Add the figs and a dribble of honey over the top
- Brush the edges of the puff pastry with the egg wash
- Bake for 16-18 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown
- Let cool on the sheet pan.
