Sunday Lunch | Fig, Strawberry and Almond Tart

Sunday lunch is a tradition in my boyfriend’s family and I try to add some color by testing out new deserts on them. I was inspired by a recipe I saw on Laura Vitale’s YouTube channel and 'kicked it up a notch' with my flavor combination. You’ll love the taste of this fig and strawberry tart with a crunchy bite of almonds sprinkled throughout. The tart was a crowd pleaser this weekend and vanished from the table within minutes.

Tart Base
2 ½ cups of All Purpose Flour
¼ cup of Granulated Sugar
1 ½ tsp of Orange Zest
¼ tsp of Salt
1 tsp Vanilla extract
¾ cup of Unsalted Butter, cold and cut into bite size pieces
¼ cup of Vegetable Shortening, cold and cut into bite size pieces
3 Egg Yolks
A Few Tablespoons of Ice Water

Filling

1 cup Fig jam

2 cups sliced Strawberries

¼ cut coarsely chopped Almonds

Egg Wash, 1 egg beaten with a tablespoon of water or milk

1.    In the bowl of food processor, add the flour, vanilla extract, orange zest, salt and sugar and mix briefly until combined well.

2.    Add the cold butter and shortening and mix until the butter and shortening are well distributed throughout the dry ingredients. You’ll see bits of them throughout mixture.

3.    Add the 3 egg yolks and mix until the dough starts to come together.

4.    With the mixer running, add in one tablespoon of ice water at a time until the dough starts coming together well.

5.    Take 1/3 of the dough and form a small disk. Take the remaining dough and form a larger disk. Wrap them both with plastic wrap and cool them in the fridge for an hour. You want this dough to stay cool so butter and shortening do not melt.

6.    Preheat the oven to 375 °F or if you’re working with the metric system, 190 °C.

7.    Take the dough out for about 10 minutes before you start rolling it. Grease a 9” tart pan with a removable bottom or one of those cool silicon baking pans as I used.

8.    On a lightly floured surface, roll out the bigger piece of dough into a 12 inch circle and place it in the tart pan (make sure the sides are over hanging a bit).

9.    With a fork, poke holes in the dough so it can breath and will not puff up when baking

10. Line the tart shell with aluminum foil and fill with either dried beans or rice. Bake the tart shell for 15 minutes.

11. Remove from the oven and remove the aluminum foil with the beans, allow to cool slightly.

12. Fill the tart shell with the jam making sure to smear it evenly. Microwave jam for a few seconds so that it is easier to spread.

13. Line the jam covered tart with your strawberries and sprinkle in your chopped almonds.

14. Roll out the smaller disk into a 10 inch circle on a floured surface and cut 1 inch strips out of it with a pastry cutter.

15. Lay the slices over the fillings in a crisscross pattern diagonally. Pinch the strips with the over the overhanging dough and then using the palm of your hand, push down on the edge of the pan to cut off excess dough.

16. Brush the top with the egg wash and place the tart in the oven to bake for about 20 minutes or until the top is lightly golden.

Allow to cool completely before serving and serve with your favorite French vanilla ice-cream or fresh whipped cream.