Nearly-Fall Fruit Tart with Goat Cheese and Almond Shortbread Crust

As the New Yorker informed us all last month, figs are pretty goth. The fruit, which is actually an inverted flower, has developed a symbiotic relationship with a tiny insect known as a fig wasp. The female wasp pollinates the fig, lays her eggs, and then gets trapped inside, and dies; the fig eventually breaks down her carcass into protein.

This new knowledge just adds to the cloud of mystery that for me, surrounds the fig. Of course, growing up in the midwest, we didn't have much access to fresh figs-- the only variety I knew came dried from the bulk bins at the co-op or stuffed in a Newton. The first real fig I ever had came from the market in Aix-en-Provence, France when I studied abroad there my junior year of college. A visit to the center market, lined with tables of a Mediterranean bounty of dates and Italian plums, pistachios and grapes,  honey and olives, and the plump purple figs striped with narrow flecks of green. The farmer, whose sing-song list of her wares, rang out clearly in her thick Provençal accent above the market din, offered me a sample and my first bite was otherworldly. I felt like I was eating something from another planet, the fruit bursting with its pink alien brain insides, and succulent, floral flavor.  Later when I moved to North Carolina for grad school, figs became more familiar, but never lost their subtle mystery. Year later, on the first date of a rekindling romance, my counterpart called to tell me he'd be a bit late; he was picking me figs.

Here in West Virginia, I fortuitously got myself employed by an organization with an office fig tree. Since I started there last November, I've been eyeing the tree every time I enter the building, anticipating the moment when I can pull one of the tree and plop it in my mouth. Early last month, I overeagerly jumped the gun a bit, picking some that were a little too green, but luckily they ripened in the fridge. 

This tart was conceived out of the first real fig harvest, though splitting the share with my coworkers, I didn't quite have enough figs for a full tart. This proved advantageous though, from both a decorative and flavor standpoint, and I ended up with a veritable fruit salad atop this goat cheese tart. It turns out that an artful arrangement of fruit also gives you a lot of bang for your buck, in terms of oohs and ahs and... well... some Instagram likes. This style of tart, with fresh fruit atop a cheese or custard filling is also highly adaptable to season; top the goat cheese interior with whatever fruit you have on hand, and time of the year, and it should serve you well.

Nearly-Fall Fruit Tart with Goat Cheese and Almond Shortbread Crust

Makes one 11-inch tart (though a 9-inch tart is pictured)

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup almond meal (make your own by grinding almonds in the food processor)
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
10 Tablespoons (1 stick +2 Tablespoons) unsalted butter
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 Tablespoon ice water

For the filling:

8 ounces fresh chèvre

8 ounces mascarpone

4 large eggs

2/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar

Zest of 1 orange

For the topping:

Assortment of fresh fruits, such as figs, plums, raspberries and blackberries, about 1 cup each.

Directions

For the crust:

1. Combine flour, almond meal, and sugar in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Add cold butter chunks to the almond mixture and process until mix is the size of small peas. Add egg yolks, extracts, and ice water and pulse just until dough begins to form. Remove pastry dough from the food processor and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for at least one hour and up to 1 day.

2. After dough has chilled, lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 11-inch tart pan. Remove the dough from the fridge. Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper and transfer to the tart pan, forming the crust up the sides (dough will be crumbly, so you may have to piece it together). Fold dough over the sides to ensure that the tart will have a strong edge. Prick all over the bottom with a fork. Chill for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

For the filling: 
1. Preheat over to 350. Blend chèvre, mascarpone, eggs, and 2/3 cup of sugar. Zest the orange and combine with the 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Combine the chèvre & orange mixtures until smooth. 

2. Pour the mixture into the tart shell, place on a cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is set. Let the tart cool on a cooling rack.

For the topping & assembly:

1. Just before serving, artfully arrange fruit on top of the tart (you may want to slice some fruits, such as figs and plums).

2. Serve immediately and enjoy! Leftovers can keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, but I'm not sure you'll have many.

Related recipes:
Cranberry Goat Cheese Tart with Almond Shortbread Crust
Fig-Pistachio Tarte Tatin
Fresh Fig Tartlets with Goat Cheese and Red Wine Syrup
Pear and Cardamom-Fig Pie

Cranberry Goat Cheese Tart with Almond Shortbread Crust

It seems that I've been blessed with really wonderful away-from-home Thanksgivings. There was two years ago at the Saltsman's in Maryland, all those spectacular Maine Thanksgivings, and this year's with Brent's family in Delaware.

We got in late Wednesday night, and after hanging out in the living room and a tour of Sandy & Dan's lovely antique-filled home, we quickly split into two groups. The ladies hung out in Jessie's red room, for girl talk--mostly family storytelling and remarks on how Neville Longbottom is kind of a babe now, while the guys, well I'm not sure what they were up to--probably drinking whiskey and watching the History Channel. In the morning we awoke to a beautiful unseasonably warm day along what I couldn't tell was there in the dark of night-- the Brandywine River.



After some online shopping, I joined Sandy in the kitchen to work on this Cranberry Goat Cheese Tart with Almond Shortbread Crust, which was, along with a Drunken Pumpkin Bourbon Pie, my contribution to the feast. I'd made a version of this for Kickasserole last year, with a regular pie crust in rectangular tart pans, but I only got to try a sliver. This time I added an almond shortbread crust, spiked the cranberry-orange compote with Grand Marnier, and baked it in a full 11-inch tart shell.

I was really pleased with the result. The goat cheese filling is smooth and rich, similar to cheesecake but lighter (and with less lactose, which is good for a slightly dairy-intolerant like me), and the cranberry compote was perfectly sweet-tart.

Cranberry Goat Cheese Tart with Almond Shortbread Crust

Filling adapted from Maggie Foard's goatcheese; Compote adapted from Gourmet

Ingredients
For crust:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
1 c. almond meal (make your own by grinding almonds in the food processor)
3/4 c. confectioner's sugar
10 Tblsp. (1 stick +2 Tblsp.) butter
4 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
1 T. ice water

For filling:
8 oz. fresh chevre
8 oz. ricotta (goat or cow)
4 large eggs
2/3 c. + 2 Tblsp. sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 Tblsp. lemon zest

For cranberry-orange compote:
3/4 c. water
3/4 c. sugar
1 large navel orange, quartered and thinly sliced
1/4 c. fresh cranberries
1 Tblsp. Grand Marnier or another orange liqueur

Directions
For crust:
1. Combine flour, almond meal, and sugar in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Add cold butter chunks to the almond mixture and process until mix is the size of small peas. Add egg yolks, extracts, and ice water and pulse just until dough begins to form. Remove pastry dough from the food processor and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for at least one hour and up to 1 day.

2. After dough has chilled, lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 11-inch tart pan. Remove the dough from the fridge. Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper and transfer to the tart pan, forming the crust up the sides (dough will be crumbly, so you may have to piece it together). Fold dough over the sides to ensure that the tart will have a strong edge. Prick all over the bottom with a fork. Chill for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

For filling:
1. Preheat over to 350. Blend chevre, eggs, 2/3 c. of sugar, and lemon juice. Zest the lemon and combine with the 2 Tblsp. of sugar. Combine the chevre & lemon mixtures until smooth. 

2. Pour the mixture into the tart shell, place on a cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is set (you may want to prepare the compote while the tart is baking). Let the tart cool on a cooling rack.

For compote and assembly:
1. In a medium saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the orange slices and cranberries and simmer over low-medium heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally until the mixture turns red, thick, and coats the back of a spoon, about 25-35 minutes. Add in the Grand Marnier and transfer the compote to a heatproof bowl. Let cool.

2. Once tart is baked and cooled, spoon the compote onto the tart and spread evenly with an offset or rubber spatula. Put in the refrigerator to set, about 30 minutes. Keep tart chilled until about 15 minutes before serving. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.

My favorite part of the day was an afternoon fire along the Brandywine. We brought down mugs of mulled wine and watched the resident family of ducks while Jack the dog enjoyed his natural habitat and dug up rocks. Brent and I brought down our instruments and played a few tunes until sunset. Then it was back inside for the final dinner preparations.

Thanksgiving dinner was classic and very delicious, with brined turkey, carrot souffle (I need the recipe for that one), Italian green beans, homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole,  and cranberry sauce (and more which I'm sure I'm forgetting). This Cranberry Goat Cheese Tart and Drunken Pumpkin Pie were joined on the dessert table by Sandy's fantastic Pecan and Chocolate Pies. Then us "kids" naughtily printed out a version of Cards Against Humanity and forced the adults to play it--rather risqué and totally hilarious.

Thanks so much to Sandy and Dan (and Jack!) for hosting, and Brent, Brian, Luigia, Jessie, and the rest of the family for welcoming me in their Thanksgiving feast.