Fall

Fig and Frangipane Pie

September 12, 2010
4.3
3 Ratings
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

Long time no see! I have been extremely busy working 18 hours a day in my tiny, tiny restaurant that it's really difficult to have time to post any recipes.
As it's still the season for figs, I got tons of them from my garden and I am making everything with figs, from salads to desserts.
Last week I came up with the idea of making a fresh fig pie with puff pastry and frangipane, which is a cream made with almond meal. So how's that for a coincidence!
You can completely cover the pie with a puff pastry sheet or if in handicrafts mood, make a tight lattice so you get a totally closed top but muuuch prettier! I’ll post a photo when I make it again. - Maria Teresa Jorge
Maria Teresa Jorge

Test Kitchen Notes

Let me start off by saying I have never made frangipane before and I am very lazy when it comes to rolling things out. I love the fact that there aren't many ingredients in this tart and it is relatively quick to make. I used store bought puff pastry which seemed to work fine but since it starts out in a sheet I was unsure how much thinner I had to go. I improvised the thickness and when I put the figs on top they were so lovely that I wanted to do a lattice so you could see them. Just be careful of how much frangipane you use as I had some oozing issues. The bottom line is that this is a very simple, forgiving recipe that yields great results. The puff pastry makes it elegant and the combination of fig and frangipane is so classic and could work for a brunch or dessert. I served with creme fraiche and it disappeared in seconds! - Brita —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Pie
  • 2 sheets of puff pastry made with butter if possible
  • 2 cups frangipane (see recipe below)
  • 12 to 14 fresh figs, either green or black
  • 1 egg beaten
  • Icing sugar for dusting
  • Frangipane (Almond Cream)
  • 4 ounces soft butter
  • 4 ounces sugar
  • 4 ounces almond meal (no skin)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 pinch baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon Almond or Vanilla Extract
Directions
  1. Roll out one the puff pastry sheets between 2 parchment papers so it's quite thin.
  2. Cut the top and bottom of the figs and cut in half, leaving the skin on.
  3. Spread the frangipane cream on the pastry leaving a 1 inch border. Cover the cream with halved figs neatly together, skin side down. Cover with the other puff pastry which should be thicker then the bottom part so you get a nice high puffy top. If making the top in lattice, cut strips of pastry and weave them together very closely so it's like a covered top only in lattice.
  4. Please remember that puff pastry is made of layeres of flour and butter and for these layers to rise, the edges have to be cut very sharply, otherwise the layers glue together and won't rise. Use a sharp knife and cut down rather then with a pulling motion.
  5. Once the top pastry is in place, brush the bottom layer with water and gently press on the top layer to make the top glue to the bottom. Then, with a very sharp knife trim around the pie so both top and bottom are identical.
  6. Brush the top pastry with beaten egg and prick with a toothpick to make little ventilation holes for any steam to come out. If the top is latticed, there is no need to make the ventilation holes.
  7. Put the pie in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  8. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cook the pie until the pastry is golden brown.
  9. Allow to cool and dust with Icing Sugar. Serve as is or with vanilla Ice-cream or fresh cream.
  10. Frangipane
  11. Sift flour, salt and baking powder and set aside.
  12. Beat the butter and sugar until very pale and fluffy. Add the almond or vanilla extract and incorporate.
  13. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat very well until mixture is very light and airy.
  14. Fold in the almond meal and the flour mixture. Any leftover Frangipane can be kept in the fridge for 1 week.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • gingerroot
    gingerroot
  • vvvanessa
    vvvanessa
  • AntoniaJames
    AntoniaJames
  • cheese1227
    cheese1227
  • nannydeb
    nannydeb

19 Reviews

gingerroot September 17, 2010
This sounds heavenly. What a lovely recipe!
 
vvvanessa September 16, 2010
this sounds lovely!
 
AntoniaJames September 15, 2010
I'm so glad you're back! Just love this recipe, especially the almond cream. How luxurious. Figs and almonds are natural partners, and perfect for fall. And congratulations and good luck on your new endeavor. ;o)
 
cheese1227 September 13, 2010
This sounds lovely. I'd love to see a picture!
 
Maria T. September 14, 2010
I'll make one this week again and take a picture - of the pie that is!!!
 
nannydeb September 13, 2010
Sounds delicious! Welcome back!
 
wanderash September 12, 2010
This looks great! I have never thought of making my own frangipane-- i am definitely going to make some soon!
 
TheWimpyVegetarian September 12, 2010
Yay!!!! I was so happy to see your name pop up with another wonderful recipe!! I was just on your cook site here at F52 looking through your recipes last night and saw you had updated your profile for all the exciting changes in your life! Congrats on the new gig - I'm sure your food is fabulous. Don't know if you got the note I sent you awhile ago letting you know we all missed you, but realized after I sent it that I wasn't getting emails sent back to me at the time. Thankfully, folks here helped me find a solution. I love your idea of a tight lattice top for a pie!! I'm allergic to nuts, but will look to see another way I can do this fabulous sounding pie!
 
Maria T. September 14, 2010
Hi Suzanne, I also missed all of you. Although I didn't post any recipes, I kept following everyone and every move Ha! ha! Nothing went unoticed. I think I answered you back at the time but it doesn't really matter now. I was wondering, if you are allergic to nuts, maybe you can substitute the almond meal by ground sunflower seeds mixed with sesame seeds!! I'll give it a try myself and see what the result is.
 
TheWimpyVegetarian September 14, 2010
That's a great idea. I've ground up pumpkin seeds in savory recipes to do the same thing, but hadn't thought to add sesame seeds. If you try it soon, let me know. If I try it first, I'll let you know the result!
 
adamnsvetcooking September 12, 2010
This looks great...I love figs, I will just have to pick some up and give it a try!
 
aliyaleekong September 12, 2010
This looks amazing - almonds and figs are such a beautiful and thoughtful combination. Thanks!
 
aargersi September 12, 2010
YAY you're back! Was a little worries / wondering where you went - glad it's because you were COOKING! This sounds wonderful of COURSE ...
 
Kitchen B. September 12, 2010
Welcome back........and what a way to return! Looking forward to making your apple/pera mostarda....
 
mrslarkin September 12, 2010
Hooray! Maria Teresa is back! This recipe sounds delicious! I love fresh figs.
 
Maria T. September 12, 2010
YES, YES, I love this community! How are you all doing? I loved all the recipes posted and congratulations to all of you. I missed you enormously. Sunday is my only day off and I hope I can get the time to post more recipes. I have to remember to take pictures though! Love to all
 
Lizthechef September 12, 2010
So glad to see you again! See how we have missed you?
 
lapadia September 12, 2010
Welcome back, love your fig recipe, frangipane and all...thanks for sharing it!
 
theicp September 12, 2010
Yay you're back!! This sounds gorgeous!