Caramelized Fig Tart with Muscavado and Goats Milk

Figs are one of the fruits that epitomize the middle east and the Mediterranean. Exotic, sensual, delicious, otherworldly..

They are of course delicious on their own but baked into this syrupy, tatin style tart they become something else altogether, their natural sugars mixing with the complex muscavado caramel.

I really enjoy the flavor of full cream goats milk, its saltiness and tang sit very well with the figs here I think.

Quality shop bought puff paste is perfect for this dish but ensure you buy the all butter variety.

Serves 6

You’ll need a medium size nonstick and ovenproof sauté pan for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 6 black figs - ripe but not over ripe and broken

• 275g roll of all butter puff pasty

• 30g cold unsalted butter

• 110g muscavado sugar

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 100ml full cream goats milk

• 100ml goat’s cream

Heat an oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Slice the butter thinly and lay in the bottom of the pan and then sprinkle over 80g of the sugar.

Cut the figs in half and place them over the sugar and press them down a little so they are snug. Insert the cinnamon stick between the figs and grate over the zest of the lemon.

Place the milk, cream and 30g of the sugar in a sauce pan and reduce by about half until thick and almost custard like. Reserve.

Roll out the puff pastry into a rough circle on a floured surface to a diameter of about 3mm. Prick the pastry all over with a fork and place in the fridge.

Set the pan with the figs on a hob burner and cook on medium heat for 8 minutes or until the sugar has turned a dark caramel colour and the figs have just started to bleed. Remove the pan from the heat and cool for 5 minutes before lying on the pastry on the figs and pushing the edges down between the side of the pan and the figs. Brush the top with egg wash, prick a few times with a fork and then cook in the oven for 20 minutes or until the pastry is a crisp, deep golden brown.

Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before flipping out onto a plate and serving, hot with reduced milk served on the side.