Fig, Cream Cheese and Mint Tart

Name: Fig, Cream Cheese and Mint Tart
Prep time: P0Y0M0DT0H15M0.000S
Cook time: P0Y0M0DT0H30M0.000S
Total time: P0Y0M0DT1H0M0.000S
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients: 1lb 2oz/500g homemade or store-bought short pastry; All-purpose flour, for dusting; 1 generous cup/9 1/2 fl oz/260ml whipping cream; 3/4 generous cup/5 1/2oz/165g cream cheese; 3 big squidges of honey; 1 tbsp Marsala (optional); 12 to 16 figs, each cut into 6 pieces; Handful of green shelled pistachios, walnuts, or pecans, halved; 1 bunch of fresh mint, ripped or roughly torn

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A real stunner and a snappy one to prepare. Serve with a simple arugula or spinach salad.

Level: Easy
Total: 1 hr

Prep: 15 min
Inactive: 15 min
Cook: 30 min

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Level: Easy
Total: 1 hr

Prep: 15 min
Inactive: 15 min
Cook: 30 min

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

1lb 2oz/500g homemade or store-bought short pastry

All-purpose flour, for dusting

1 generous cup/9 1/2 fl oz/260ml whipping cream

3/4 generous cup/5 1/2oz/165g cream cheese

3 big squidges of honey

1 tbsp Marsala (optional)

12 to 16 figs, each cut into 6 pieces

Handful of green shelled pistachios, walnuts, or pecans, halved

1 bunch of fresh mint, ripped or roughly torn

Directions

Special equipment:

8 by 12 in (20 by 30 cm) rectangular fluted pan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Roll out the pastry on a floured counter to the thickness of a 1-cent piece and use it to carefully line the pan. Homemade pastry is short and so will be quite crumbly. Don't be alarmed by this, you can patch it together in the pan. Take a small ball of the pastry (the size of a nickel) and use it to gently ease the dough down into the pan. Press the handle of a wooden spoon against the pastry all round the edges to coax it into the fluted grooves. Trim off the excess around the top and run a thin knife around between the pastry and the edge of the pan to loosen. Put in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, or until firm.
Remove the tart from the refrigerator. Take a piece of parchment paper slightly larger than the pan and scrunch it up, then unscrunch it and line the pan with it. Fill it with pie weights or dried beans and "blind bake" in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry feels sandy to the touch. Remove the paper and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
For the filling, put the cream in a bowl and whip until beginning to thicken, then fold it into the cream cheese and mix with the honey and Marsala, if using. Put the filling in the tart case, then arrange the figs on top and scatter over the nuts and mint. Serve with a sweet wine such as Asti.
Figs and mint are delicious, so sprinkling some torn mint leaves over the tart works really well. This tart is best eaten on the day it is made.