This recipe has 5 stages.

You will make sweet tart dough, frangipane, and sauté figs to make a jam, blend eggs for custard and then assemble and bake a beautiful tart.

You can make this in stages or in an afternoon, whatever you have time to do.

What is frangipane? Frangipane is a finely ground mixture of almonds, sugar and eggs. It is used as a filling for fine pastries: almond croissants, Danish pastries, underneath fruit in a fruit custard pie such as this recipe.

Frangipane is very similar to marzipan which does not have eggs.

Frangipane must be refrigerated or frozen. If kept fresh, use it within a week for best flavor.

You will have some of these components left to make other things with so get creative!

I had sweet dough, frangipane, and custard left so I made two smaller tarts and topped them with Spicy Port Poached Pears.

For the sweet tart dough

Yield: two 9 1/2 inch tarts

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg

Sift together the confectioners’ sugar, flour and salt into a bowl.

Place the butter into a food processor and process until smooth.

Scatter the flour mixture over the butter, add the egg and process just until the dough forms a mass; do not over mix.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least for an hour.

Line a greased 9 1/2 inch tart pan with half the dough and chill for 30 minutes. Keep the other half for another use.

For the frangipane:

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Place the sugar and the slivered almonds in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground; about 2 minutes.

Add the butter and process until combined.

Add the eggs and the almond extract, if using, and process until smooth; about 1 minute.

Add the flour and process until combined.

Use ¾ cup for this recipe. Extra frangipane can be frozen until another use. Use fresh frangipane within a week if kept refrigerated.

For the figs:

• 2 pints fresh figs, quartered.

Keep enough uncooked figs aside to ring the outside of the tart

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 vanilla bean, split & scraped
• sugar to taste*

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pan, add the vanilla seeds and beans and the quartered figs and sauté until they have a jam like consistency but retain their shape.

Use sugar to taste.* Often you don’t need it.

Cool the mixture.

For the custard:

• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon Cognac (or to taste)

Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a medium bowl, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the cream and cognac.

To assemble and finish this tart, you will need:

• One 9-1/2 inch tart shell made from sweet tart dough, unbaked
• 3/4 cup frangipane
• Quartered figs and sautéed figs, cooled
• Custard mixture
• Slivered almonds

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

1. Spread an even layer of frangipane over the prepared tart pan.

Bake for 14 minutes, until the frangipane layer is puffed but not set.
Cool.

1. Arrange some uncooked fig quarters around the edge of the tart
2. 

   Add the fig ‘jam’ inside of the ring you made with the quartered uncooked figs

   

   Pour the custard mix over the figs

   

   Bake the tart at 350 degrees F. for 50 minutes. The crust will be golden.
   After making the tart, I had some ingredients left over. 2 small port poached pears with frangipane and custard and some decorative cookies from the remaining sweet tart dough.

   Add the fig ‘jam’ mixture on the baked frangipane layer, inside of the fresh fig ring.

3. Pour the custard mixture over the figs.
4. Sprinkle the top with some slivered almonds.
5. Bake for 50 minutes, until the custard is set and the pastry is golden brown.

Cool the tart completely on a wire rack before cutting and serving.

This is an elegant tart. After putting all your time and effort into it, make it an occasion to eat it! Make up one if you have to.