This Fig Tart boasts a crisp, lightly-sweet, buttery shell, fig jam, fluffy almond cream, fresh Figs, and toasted almonds. A beautiful way to enjoy fig season alongside a cup of coffee or tea.

slice of fig and almond cream tart on a white plate with honey whipped cream and fresh sliced figs
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It’s no secret that I adore fresh figs. Actually, a couple of years ago, one of my readers gave me the name of the “Fig Queen” because of how many fig photos I was posting. It’s a title I’m happy to wear.

One of my favorite desserts to make during fig season is this Fig Tart with Almond Cream. This recipe is inspired by both the Plum and Almond Cream Tart in Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel’s Bouchon Bakery cookbook (p. 150), and an English Bakewell tart.It makes a beautiful, yet rustic presentation and is utterly delicious.

unbaked pate sablee in a tart pan

What You’ll Need to Make This Fig Tart

This tart recipe can be split into a couple of different components: the crust, the filling, and the fruit.

The Tart Crust

For the Fig Tart crust, you’ll be making Pâte sablée, a classic French shortcrust pastry that has a crisp, cookie-like texture. You’ll need all-purpose and almond flours, egg yolks, powdered sugar, heavy cream, unsalted butter, and vanilla.

The dough for the Pâte sablée can be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated. When you’re ready to make the tart, you’ll roll the dough, fit it into the tart pan, and partially blind bake it before filling to ensure a crisp crust.

tart pan lined with parchment paper and filled with pie weights

Baking Tips

  1. Pâte sablée has a high fat content, and the dough might tear while you’re working with it. This is normal. Just press it back together. If the dough becomes too warm while you’re working with it, pop it back in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up.
  2. Place the tart pan on top of a baking sheet in the oven in case there’s any leakage of butter or almond cream.
  3. Dark and non-stick tart pans will likely brown the crust faster. Keep a close eye when you’re blind baking.
fig spread in a par-baked tart shell with a metal spreader

The Filling

The filling consists of a layer of fig spread/jam, and fluffy almond cream.

Like a Bakewell Tart, you’ll spread a thin layer of jam onto the base of the tart shell. My favorite brands of fig spread are Dalmatia and Divinia.

Almond Cream

Almond Cream (La Creme d’Amande) is a baked pastry filling made with butter, ground almonds (or almond meal/flour), eggs, sugar, and in some recipes, all-purpose flour. The cream is classically flavored with dark rum and/or vanilla extract, and a touch of almond extract.

dollops of almond cream in a par-baked tart shell spread with fig jam

You’ll often see the term “almond cream” use exchangeably with “frangipane”. Both Larousse Gastronomique (p. 460) and Keller and Rouxel (Bouchon Bakery, p. 376) however, make the distinction of frangipane being almond cream that’s lightened with pastry cream.

Almond cream is always baked. You’ll see it in recipes like fruit tarts, Bakewell tarts, and Pithiviers.

You can make almond cream up to 3-5 days in advance and store it in the refrigerator. I like to bring it back to room temperature and quickly re-whip it in the stand mixer before using.

overhead of an unbaked fig tart on a red and white striped napkin

The Figs

For this fig tart, you’ll need fresh, ripe figs. I most often use the Black Mission or Brown Turkey varieties.

The figs should be soft and juicy, but not overripe. They should hold their shape when cut. (If they’ve ripened too far, they’ll bake down too much and make the tart soggy.)

I like to trim the stems off of the figs and quarter them. Then, I arrange them in circles over the top of the unbaked tart, and gently press them into the almond cream.

As the tart bakes, the figs will roast and deepen in flavor. They’ll settle into the almond cream, as it puffs up around them. I also like to sprinkle a few sliced almonds over the top to add a little crunch, and a warm, toasted flavor.

side view of a baked fig and almond cream tart on a white marble board

Serving the Fig Tart

It’s best to slice and serve this tart at room temperature, so the almond cream fully sets and the fig juices don’t run. When cooled, I like to lightly dust the top with powdered sugar.

The tart’s texture is best the day you bake it. If needed, you can keep it covered, at room temperature, for an extra day. I definitely wouldn’t say no to a slice for breakfast with my morning cup of tea!

Since figs and honey go together so well, I also like to serve the sliced tart with a dollop of honey whipped cream on the side. This is a good place to be creative with your honey varieties. Try different artisan and local honeys to change the flavor and find the combination you like best!

More Fig Recipes

5 from 2 votes

Fig Tart with Almond Cream

This roasted fig tart with rich almond cream and sweet shortcrust pastry is a beautiful and delicious way to enjoy fresh fig season.
Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Resting Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

Tart Dough

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
  • 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons heavy cream (1/2 tablespoon), plus additional, if needed
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sifted almond flour
  • pinch kosher salt

Almond Cream

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter , room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons dark rum
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 cup sifted almond flour
  • pinch kosher salt

To Assemble the Tart

  • 1/4 cup fig spread
  • 3/4 pound fresh figs , trimmed and cut into quarters
  • 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

To Serve the Tart

  • powdered sugar , for dusting
  • honey whipped cream (see notes)
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Instructions 

Make the Crust

  • In a bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, almond flour, and salt. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and powdered sugar until light. In a small bowl, stir together egg yolk, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Mix into the creamed butter and sugar mixture until combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
  • With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Dough will be very soft.
  • Place dough on a very lightly floured surface, form into a disk, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Make the Almond Cream

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light. Add egg, rum, and vanilla and almond extracts and beat until combined. Scrape the bowl.
  • Add almond flour and salt and beat on medium-low speed until smooth. Transfer almond cream to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. (Bring back to room temperature before filling the tart.)

Par-Bake the Crust

  • Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Roll dough between two pieces of wax paper to a 12-inch circle.
  • Roll the dough around your rolling pin and fit it into a 9-1/2 inch tart pan without stretching. Trim edges to a 1-inch overhang, and fold into the pan to make an edge of double thickness. If the dough tears, don't worry – just press it back together.
  • "Dock" the bottom of the dough by piercing it all over with a fork. Freeze for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the tart pan from the freezer and line with lightly-greased parchment paper or aluminum foil to a 1-inch overhang. Fill completely with pie weights or dried beans.
  • Place the tart pan on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights and parchment paper or foil. Continue baking for 5 minutes, until the bottom of the crust appears dry.
  • Remove tart pan to a wire rack and let cool.

Assemble the Tart

  • Spread the fig jam in a thin layer on the bottom of the cooled crust. Add the almond cream and spread into an even layer.
  • Arrange the sliced figs, flesh side up, over the tart, and press slightly into the almond cream. Sprinkle with the sliced almonds.
  • Place the filled tart pan on a lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F, 35 to 45 minutes, until the almond cream is puffed and golden.
  • Remove the tart pan to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Lightly dust with powdered sugar, slice into wedges, and serve with honey whipped cream, if desired.

Notes

To make honey whipped cream:

In a large, chilled bowl, beat 1 cup of heavy cream until frothy and slightly-thickened. Add 1-2 tablespoons honey (depending on how fragrant your honey is and how sweet you want the whipped cream to be) and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat until soft peaks form. Use immediately. 

Nutrition Estimate

Serving: 0.125tart | Calories: 513kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 25mg | Potassium: 156mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 858IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

About our recipes

Please note that our recipes have been developed using the US Customary measurement system and have not been tested for high altitude/elevation cooking and baking.

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3 Comments

  1. Chefy76 says:

    Delicious. Worth the time to make. Thank you for this recipe. My favorite things figs and almond. Home run.

  2. Stacy says:

    This tart is amazing! (And this is the first time I have reviewed a dessert online even though I use recipes all the time). My daughter and I made it for my other daughter’s birthday because she wanted something with fresh figs. Everybody there loved it and wanted the recipe. The next day we had a friend try it and he thought it was amazing. I made it exactly as the recipe said. The crust was a perfect complement to the figs. And the honey whip cream is a must. It really finishes it off. It wasn’t hard to make but I needed to be around for the cooling and freezing time between a few of the steps. Will definitely make this again – and may try it with cherries.

  3. Annika says:

    I absolutely love this recipe! I made it with figs when I had fresh ones and it was great. I also highly recommend it with apple butter and apples in place of fig jam and figs!