This Fresh Figs Tart with Ricotta and Walnuts is such a refreshing and light summer dessert. I love to serve this tart during an afternoon tea or when I have guests over. My kids gobble up it and they leave crumbs from the pastry all over the kitchen counter:).
This tart is a quick treat, this is not something I make to take over to an invitation. I love the flavor combination of flaky pastry, figs, maple syrup, ricotta and walnuts. This is supposed to be a relaxed way to make a delicious tart:). It’s definitely not sophisticated but it tastes amazing:). You can however garnish it or spruce it a little for a more presentable dessert.
Tart Filling
You can use a sweet custard to make tart filling, that’s a little more traditional. However, I love how figs pair with ricotta. I often make ricotta toast with fresh figs for breakfast. So this filling is simple, just ricotta and maple syrup.
Other filling combinations can be ricotta topped with favorite jams or just fruit compote topped with nuts etc. Possibilities are endless! I love to use what I have available so nothing goes bad as I don’t like to waste food. Not every tart is a winner but give it a try, who knows you can stumble upon a favorite recipe you keep for life.
Fresh Figs
I love figs, they remind me of summer in the Mediterranean. Figs there are amazing! There’s a variety called Adriatic Figs that is just so sweet and very common along the coastline of my native Albania.
The season for fresh figs is very short, I usually see them sold for 2-3 weeks max here in Florida where I live now. So I try to take advantage anytime I see them. Usually I make this Figs Salad and if I have more, I try to make a small batch fig jam.
Baking the Tart
Baking this tart is done in 2 steps.
- Bake pastry for 15-18 minutes until golden.
- Add filling, fresh figs, walnuts and maple drizzle. Bake for another 10 minutes.
The reason I make this tart in 2 steps is that ricotta can get the pastry wet if you try to bake it all at once and the pastry won’t flake.
Tips and Notes
The puff pastry I used for this tart comes in 2 pastry sheets in one box. You keep it frozen until you need to use it then you thaw it before baking. I thawed only 1 pastry sheet, not both for this tart.
1 sheet of pastry is about 10 by 10 square. So to make the tart I felt a square baking pan was the best fit. I had a brownie 9×9 pan so I used that to make the tart. See video for how to fit the pastry sheet to the pan. Don’t forget to grease first.
Once you have the puff pastry in the pan, cut an indentation perimeter with a knife about an inch from the edge, don’t cut through just superficially. Then make holes with a fork every inch or so. See video for a quick example!
After the first bake, use a spatula or a spoon to press on the square inside the indentations to press the flaky pastry down. Add the ricotta, maple syrup filling, spread it evenly. Then top with fresh figs, walnuts and a light drizzle of maple syrup. Bake again for another 10 minutes or so and your tart is ready, just let it cool down before you dig into it:)).
Fresh Figs Tart
Equipment
- 9×9 baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 8-9 figs pick favorite variety of figs if you have a choice, otherwise whichever fresh figs you can find
- 4 ozs ricotta
- 3 tbsps maple syrup, divided 2 tbsps will be used with ricotta and the rest for drizzle, adjust to taste
- 2 ozs chopped walnuts
- 2 ozs butter
Instructions
- Thaw puff pastry sheet. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Lightly grease the baking pan. Fit puff pastry on it using your hands. Cut superficially (not through) the dough around the edges, about 1 inch in as seen in the video. Then pinch with fork throughout the dough. Lightly brush with butter. Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown.
- Handle baking tray carefully. Use a spatula to press on the inner square of the tart. This will create an indentation where you previously cut with knife.
- Mix ricotta with 2 tbsps of maple syrup until creamy. Spread evenly on the bottom layer of the tart, not on edges.
- Clean the figs, cut the top and slice them. Layer rows of figs over ricotta. Tops with chopped walnuts and drizzle with remaining maple syrup. Brush the edges of the tart with more butter. Bake for another 10 minutes at 350 minutes.
- Let tart cool down with about 15 minutes, cut in 9 squares and serve either warm or cold. I love mine with a cup of coffee:). Enjoy!!
Video
Notes
- Thawing time is not included in Cooking time for this recipe so you have to account for that separately. I usually leave the frozen package of puff pastry on my kitchen counter when I drive kids to school. By the time I am back, the pastry sheet is ready for me to use.
- Please keep in mind that Nutrition data is an estimate. Also, I don’t always use the entire ricotta mix and butter so values might be slightly less.
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
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