Walnut Dried Fig Tart Recipe

This dried fig tart recipe is a beautiful dessert to serve all year long. It’s full of walnuts and mission figs baked into a buttery crust. Make it for Thanksgiving or for your next special occasion. Plan ahead! The tart will need to cool for about 3 hours after it bakes.

What Kind of Figs to Use

Jammy Sun-Maid and Orchard Choice California Dried Mission Figs pair well with walnuts but you could just as easily use nutty Golden Figs that are more delicately sweet and a bit tangy too.

For the fig walnut filling, you will start by simmering the figs, sugar, brandy, and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. You will simmer the figs until the liquid evaporates and the figs are very soft. At this point, stir in the orange zest and walnuts and cool to room temperature.

How to Bake the Tart Crust

Mixing the Wet Ingredients: Whisk the wet ingredients of the egg, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. This will be a one-step addition later to start hydrating the dough.

Mixing the Dry Ingredients: Next, you will combine the dry ingredients of flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt with lemon zest in a food processor. Then, you will add in cubed butter, processing until the mixture resembles coarse meal. We find about seven 1-second pulses does the trick.

Combining Wet with Dry Ingredients

Then, you add in the egg mixture, processing until the ingredients are incorporated. You will know the mixture is where it needs to be when it forms a ball. If the dough is still crumbly, add in 1 tablespoon of water—you don’t want it to be too wet. Remove the dough from the food processor, transferring it to a large bowl. Gently knead the dough until cohesive. Shape the dough into a 5-inch disk. Then, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Finishing the Dough

Remove the dough from the refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable). Roll dough between 2 large sheets of lightly floured parchment paper to 13-inch circle about 1⁄4 inch thick. Peel off top sheet, loosely roll dough around rolling pin, then unroll over 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Working around circumference of pan, ease dough into pan corners by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into corners with other hand. Press dough against fluted sides of pan, patching breaks or cracks if necessary. If some sections of edge are too thin, reinforce by folding excess dough back on itself. Run rolling pin over top of tart pan to remove any excess dough. The finished edge should be 1⁄4 inch thick. If not, press dough up over edge of pan and pinch. Freeze dough-lined pan for 30 minutes.

Baking the Tart

The tart will bake at a low heat. Once the fig and walnut mixture has cooled, spread it into the tart shell, evening out the top with the back of a spoon or offset spatula to work filling into the edges of a tart shell. Bake until the edges of the tart are lightly browned. You’ll cool the tart to room temperature, about 3 hours.

Pro-Tips for the Dried Fig Tart Recipe

You won’t want to add too much water to this dough. Instead, add a tablespoon of water and process the dough, testing it by squeezing a handful. If it doesn’t come together, add a splash of water. If it does come together, then no more water is necessary.

You’ll be processing the tart dough in a food processor, but avoid overworking the dough by finishing kneading it by hand—at this point If you were to continue processing the dough in a food processor until it comes together into a ball, the baked crust will be tough and overly crisp, not flaky and biscuit-like, which is the desired texture).

Storage of the Fig Tart

The cooled tart can be refrigerated for up to several days. Just before serving, dust with confectioners’ sugar and cut into slices.

Print

California Fig-Walnut Tart

Surprise at dessert time with a dried fig tart. This fig tart recipe with walnuts is elegant and unexpected and would be welcome at Thanksgiving too.
Course Dessert
Keyword Dried Fig Tart, Fig Tart Recipe
Servings 10 people
Calories 289kcal

Ingredients

Pasta Frolla

  • 1 egg large
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp table salt
  • finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 7 tbsp unsalted butter sold, cut into 1/4" pieces

Filling

  • 1 lb Sun-Maid Golden California Figs stems removed, fruit chopped coarse
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brandy
  • 1 cup water
  • Grated zest of 1 medium orange
  • 1 cup walnuts chopped coarse
  • confectioner's sugar

Instructions

For the Crust

  • Whisk egg, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of water in small bowl and set aside.
  • Place flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest in food processor and pulse to combine. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture and process to cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal, about seven 1-second pulses. With machine running, add egg mixture and process until all liquid ingredients are incorporated. Squeeze handful of dough; if it forms moist ball, no more water is necessary. If mixture is crumbly and dry, add 1 more tablespoon water and process until just incorporated.
  • Remove dough from food processor and transfer to large bowl. Gently knead until cohesive, about 30 seconds. Shape dough into 5-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
  • Remove dough from refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable). Roll dough between 2 large sheets of lightly floured parchment paper to 13-inch circle about 1⁄4 inch thick. Peel off top sheet, loosely roll dough around rolling pin, then unroll over 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Working around circumference of pan, ease dough into pan corners by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into corners with other hand. Press dough against fluted sides of pan, patching breaks or cracks if necessary. If some sections of edge are too thin, reinforce by folding excess dough back on itself. Run rolling pin over top of tart pan to remove any excess dough. The finished edge should be 1⁄4 inch thick. If not, press dough up over edge of pan and pinch. Freeze dough-lined pan for 30 minutes.

For the Filling

  • Meanwhile, bring figs, sugar, brandy, and water to simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and figs are very soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in orange zest and walnuts and cool to room temperature.
  • Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Spread cooled fig and nut mixture evenly in tart shell. Use back of spoon or offset spatula to work filling into edges of tart shell. Bake until edges of tart are lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer tart pan to wire rack, cool for 5 minutes, then remove outer ring of pan. Cool tart to room temperature, about 3 hours. (The cooled tart can be refrigerated for up to several days.) Just before serving, dust with confectioners’ sugar and cut into slices.

Notes

NOTES: Don’t add too much water to this dough. Add a tablespoon, process the dough, test it by squeezing a handful to see if it comes together, then add more liquid if necessary. To avoid overworking the dough, finish kneading it by hand. If you process the dough in a food processor until it comes together into a ball, the baked crust will be tough and overly crisp, not flaky and biscuit-like, which is the desired texture.
The following recipe is reprinted with permission of Cook’s Illustrated.
Recipe source: America’s Test Kitchen. Valley Fig is a proud sponsor of the America’s Test Kitchen.

Nutrition

Calories: 289kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 139mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 270IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1.2mg

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