Spiced Chocolate Ganache Fig Tart

D Ed

I hope that everyoneefd dcr had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a glorious time, friends, family, neighbors, everyone united around two table put together to enjoy a magnificent feast that my father put together. My mother had us decorate the table with porcelain statues of turkey, oyster bowls full of grapes, and mismatched vintage table cloths. In true holiday spirit Michael and I helped out with the meal, but made our own personal contribution of dessert.

We are so accustomed to pumpkin pies or pecan pies this time of year, that we decided upon making a simple cold chocolate spiced dessert, in the form of a spiced chocolate ganache tart topped with caramelized figs. I don’t think it gets more decadent than this!  

*To cheat on the crust, you can also buy pie crust mix, and add one egg, and three table spoons brown sugar.

*Take about 2 and a half hours.

Pie Crust:

3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6 to 8 Tablespoon ice water

Ganache:

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Caramelized Figs:
8 medium to small sized figs
½ cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons honey

This tart is incredibly easy, and it is velvety and delicious. It is nothing short of decadent. You will make the tart in three steps; start with the pie crust, the ganache, and then caramelize the figs.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a food processor pulsing to mix. Next add cold butter and mix about 8 times until butter is broken down. Now add ice cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, then brown sugar, then egg. Take dough out of processor and flatten and then place in refrigerator for up to one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, remove dough from refrigerator, and roll out until it is about an 1/8 of an inch thick. Lay over a 9 inch round tart pan, and press down to fit the fold, piercing the bottom about 10 times with a fork to allow steam to release from underneath the dough. Place in oven and bake about 15-20 minutes or until the dough turns golden brown.  Once done, remove and let cool completely.

For the ganache, place cream in a medium sauce pan and chocolate in a large bowl. Boil the cream, once boiled pour the cream, through a sieve (or strainer) into the chocolate. Mix together until there are no lumps in the chocolate. Next add vanilla and cinnamon, and make sure to mix together completely. Next pour the chocolate into your cooled pie crust, and place in refrigerator and let set for about an hour.

For the figs, slice cut both ends of the figs off, and then split into quarters. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a bowl, mix together the figs, honey, and half of the brown sugar, making sure you coat all of the figs. Now lay the figs out on a baking sheet evenly, and sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar on top, and place in oven. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the figs are soft to the touch. You can even taste one, and test for sweetness, and no bitterness. Once the figs are done, remove from oven and let cool completely.

To serve all you need to do is pile the figs up in the middle of the tart and take out of the tart mold. Enjoy! The mix of the chocolate, cinnamon, and figs is a combination that will be a crowd pleaser and hopefully will become a tradition for years to come!