Fig Clafoutis Tart

Today is Transfiguration Sunday.  I only know this because for the first time in years, I attended church.  I have accompanied a friend to her church, where her husband preaches, a few times in recent years, but I cannot remember the last time I attended a church of my own denomination before today.  

I had a number of motivations for deciding to attend - not least of all the fellowship of other human beings, and the wonderful music that is part and parcel of the services in my church.  There was morning tea afterwards, where I met a few of the parishioners over sandwiches and tea.  The service made me feel lighter and relaxed, and took me back many years to the church school that I attended, making me feel younger!

The sermon was pertinent to me, although the visiting pastor who prepared it could have no idea of this.  It centred around the transfiguration of Jesus into brightness before three of his disciples atop a mountain.  The pastor commenced the sermon by mentioning how people that we think we know can be transfigured by revealing things or a side of themselves that we never knew before, which can be unsettling in either a good or a bad way.  I have had an experience recently where someone that I know, not very well, revealed a side of themselves that unsettled me, in a good way, so the sermon was helpful to me in working through my own thoughts.

Baking itself is a transfigurative process, whereby humble ingredients are transformed into something different and surprising.  Flour by itself is not something I would want to eat, but combine it in the right way with butter, sugar, eggs and other ingredients, and you end up with something altogether different and amazing.

So it is with today's recipe for Fig Clafoutis Tart.  I have made it my mission this summer to bake with as many different summer fruits as I could, and figs were one of the  things on my list.  There are many delicious recipes for baked goods featuring figs.  In the end, I was swayed into making this recipe from the Gumnut Patisserie in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, because it was two desserts in one - a tart and a clafoutis.  How could I resist that? 

As you can see from the photo, this short crust tart has a lovely, custard-like filling, studded with juicy fresh figs.  How could you resist a slice of that?

To make this tart, you will need:

10 fresh figs
110g butter
110g + 35g sugar
4 eggs
240g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
165ml heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon kirsch (optional)

First up, make  the pastry for the tart shell.  Put the softened butter and 110g sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until well combined.  Crack one of the eggs into the bowl and beat well.  Add the flour and baking powder, then mix on low speed until just combined. 

Scrape the dough out onto a sheet of baking paper and form into a rough disc shape, then place another sheet of baking paper on top of the disc.  Roll out the dough into a circle approximately 20cm in diameter.  Place the dough onto a baking tray to keep it flat, and put it into the freezer for about an hour.

Spray a 20cm round tart tin with a removable base with cooking oil.  Remove the tart dough from the freezer and allow it to sit until just malleable.  Peel one side of the baking paper off the dough, replace it, then turn the dough over and peel off the other piece of baking paper (and leave it off).  Carefully line the tart tin with the tart dough, using the remaining piece of baking paper to lift it and to ease it evenly into the tart tin.  Ensure that you press the dough into all of the indentations in the tart tin and into the edges.  Don't worry if the dough tears (I found this dough quite sticky and soft, so it did tear) - just patch up any tears with extra dough.  Trim off the dough handing over the edges of the dough, then rest the dough in the tin for another half an hour in the fridge.

In the meantime, preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius.  Place a piece of foil sprayed with oil, oily side down, over the tart dough and pour in rice or baking weights, then put the tart tin into the oven to allow the dough to partly bake for 5 minutes before removing from the oven.  Remove the baking weights.  Make an egg wash by whisking an egg with a splash of cold water, then brush the partly baked tart shell with the egg wash and bake for another 2 minutes.  Remove the tart shell from the oven while you make the filling.

Now it's time to make the clafoutis filling.  In a large bowl, break in the remaining two eggs and 35g sugar, and whisk until well combined.  Whisk in the cream, then the kirsch (if using), and set aside.

Cut the figs into wedges (I cut each fig into eight wedges), and place them into the partly baked tart shell, cut side up.   Pour over the clafoutis filling, then place the tart into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is just set.  Remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.  

This tart would be wonderful served with a little icecream or cream, but of course it is delicious on its own.   Enjoy!