Fig, Honey and Vanilla Tart Tatin

Fig season is upon us, and we are lucky enough to have a fig tree in our garden, so we decided to experiment by making this fig tart tatin using our fresh Violetta figs! The recipe is simple and has only a few ingredients. This tastes great served warm with a dollop of cream or vanilla ice cream!

Ingredients:

23cm (or thereabouts) oven proof frying pan
300 grams read to roll / pre rolled puff pastry (we used Jusroll pre-rolled). It there is one pastry that is not worth making, it is puff. It takes a long time to make, and what you get in a supermarket is just as good.
8 ripe figs (we used Violetta, but you can use what is available)
60 grams Acacia Honey (or your honey of choice)
60 grams unsalted butter
1 vanilla pod
1 egg to egg wash pastry
150 ml double cream / or vanilla ice cream to serve

Method:

1. Take pastry out of fridge. Roll (if using non rolled) to 0.5 cm thickness. Cut around the pastry using the pan as your guide so you have a round the shape of the pan. Put back in fridge.
2. In the pan, over medium heat, place butter, honey, vanilla seeds taken from a split vanilla pod, and the pod in a pan and leave to melt. It will start to bubble and caremelize. Keep an eye that it doesn’t burn. After it has caremelized and bubbled for two to three minutes, add in the figs, halved, cut side down into the pan.
3. Cook for 5 or so minutes on medium heat until they start to soften.
4. At this point, turn off heat and take the pastry out of the fridge. You want to cover the figs with the pastry, and tuck in the sides using a spoon. Don’t worry if the sides look a bit messy, the pastry will puff up so much you wont be able to see on the final product.
5. Egg wash the top, and place in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is golden and cooked. It may take longer. Just keep an eye on the pastry until it is nice and brown. You can’t really over cook the figs.
6. Leave to stand on work surface for 2-3 minutes. Get a plate and cover the pan, and flip it upside down so the tart finishes on the plate. Do not panic if there are figs left in the pan. If this happens, carefully lift them out with a spoon and place inside the pastry. No-one will ever know…
7. Serve with whipped double cream (with vanilla extract if you like), or ice cream. Make sure you cut with a sharp knife to stop the figs getting too messy and splitting.