I'm not Figging - Dessert is Intoxicatingly Easy.

I’m not Figging — Dessert is Intoxicatingly Easy.

Desserts / May 28, 2014

In my next life — because I like the idea of coming back as good food — I want to be a fig soaked in brandy. Ah, you say. She wants so little! Why not come back as a Royal Princess? Or the Tree of Life? Or maybe even Robert Downy Jr.’s pillow?

Well, for one thing, I’ve seen first hand how happy that fig was. And how happy it made everyone as it lay there, suspended on top of that vanilla custard, held in place by the luxurious syrup and crowned with lemon zest. (C’mon. Lemon zest already!) Before you argue again, why don’t you take a look at this dessert of BRANDY SOAKED FIGS AND RAISINS OVER A VANILLA CUSTARD TART, make it, taste it, and see if you don’t feel a little jealous?

Brandy Soaked Figs and Raisins over Vanilla Custard Tart

Total Time about 5 hours from beginning to service.

This is enough fruit to serve 6

Crust:

Use your favorite regular pie crust. Press the dough into the tart dish, no rolling needed. (Be sure and butter and flour the pan so it’s easy to remove the tart and also when you remove the bottom of the tart pan, you want those sides to stay pretty!) Then freeze for 30 minutes. I had it in the freezer for 3 hours. You can freeze overnight. Then take out, put on cookie sheet, and immediately put in a 375 degree oven. Line it with pie weights and cook for 10 minutes. Remove weights and cook another 6 minutes or so.

Filling:

(Which you put into the cooked crust right away and bake.)

TART FILLING is from WILLIAMS SONOMA: (click words to see the recipe on Williams Sonoma’s site.)

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon (I only used half)
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract (I used 2 t)
1 T of the brandy after being drained off the fruit.

Direction:

In a food processor, combine the eggs and sugar and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the cream cheese, pulse to break it up and then process until smooth, about 15 seconds. Add the sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, flour and vanilla and process just until smooth, about 20 seconds. Pour the filling into the partially baked crust.
Bake at 350 degrees, until the top looks firm and is set when you gently shake the pan, about 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 1 hour. Remove the tart from the pan. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

INGREDIENTS and DIRECTIONS:

Fruit Topping:

1 C dried figs, cut in half, ½ C golden raisins, 1 cinnamon stick and cover with good brandy. Let sit for about 3 hours. Drain and reserve juice. Place fruit in a saucepan with 1 C water and 1 C packed brown sugar. Add 1 t vanilla a bit of coarse salt, 1 t fig balsamic. Boil for 12 minutes, remove from heat and stir in about ½ t to a t of corn starch and stir to thicken slightly, then let completely cool in the saucepan. It will thicken a bit more as time goes on.

To Serve:

Cut the tart into wedges, cover with the fruit mixture, top with lemon zest. Serve with a nice Port wine!