Fig Tart with Almonds

There has been a glut of fruit this year and I could'nt resist buying a whole load of figs from the supermarket. Then I was left with the dilemma of what to do with them. I found this recipe in an old Italian cookery book ( the Italians are so good at making pastries and desserts) so made this delicious tart.
Also my gorgeous girlfriends were coming round for coffee - so what better to have with a freshly brewed espresso!

If you like you can make your own pastry using the recipe below or you can buy some ready made sweet shortcrust pastry which makes this a really quick tart to put together. If you are going to use shop bought pastry you can skip the next bit of the recipe.
You can also use this same recipe but instead of figs you can use plums, apricots, greengages or any other stone fruit.

To make the Pastry case

This recipe will make enough for 2 x 9 inch tarts but you can always freeze half for later.

250g/9oz butter -slightly softened
250g/9oz caster sugar
500g/1llb 2oz flour
a pinch of salt
2 whole eggs and 1 yolk

Put the butter into a bowl with the sugar and mix to incorporate using a wooden spoon. Mix in the flour and salt with your fingers but don't knead it just work it gently through your fingers. Add the eggs and mix gently with your hands until the mixture just comes together and you can form it into a ball. Add a little flour if the dough seems too wet or a bit of cold water if it is too dry.
Divide the dough into 2 balls and flatten them slightly. Wrap in greaseproof paper and place in the fridge for about half an hour to an hour. The pastry will keep in the fridge for a couple of days or freeze for later if you are not using it all.

To line the tart tin.

 
You will need a 9" tart tin.

Remove the disc of dough from the fridge once it has had its resting time.
Sprinkle your work surface with a little flour. Place the disc on the surface and lightly roll out to 3mm about an eighth of an inch slightly larger in diameter than your tin. Lightly flour your rolling pin and roll up the pastry around the pin. Lower the pastry into the tin and unroll it from the pin as you do so.
Press the pasty down into the base of the tin. Roll you rolling pin over the top of the tin to trim off any overhanging pastry.

Now you need to bake the case "blind" which means you bake it without any filling.

Line the case with baking parchment and fill with some baking weight or you can just use some dried beans which you can keep for baking next time.
 Place in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes until you can see the edges of the pastry turning a pale gold.
Remove the beans and the paper and prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork. This stops the bottom of the pastry case from puffing up and not leaving any room for your filling. Put the pastry case back in the oven until the case in lightly brown and dry so that you dont end up with a soggy base for your tart.


For the Tart

10 ripe figs
4 tablespoons jam - you can use plum, apricot or fig
150g/6oz skinned almonds, halved
3 tablespoons demerara sugar


To assemble the tart.
Trim the figs and cut in half.
Spoon the jam over the bottom of the cooked pastry spreading it with the back of your spoon. Lay the figs cut side up over the jam. Scatter with the almonds and sprinkle with the sugar
Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes until the figs are golden and softened.