Buttery, crispy shortcrust pairs with sweet, smooth almond frangipane and is tipped with lightly caramelized fig slices in this easy vegan French fig tart.
You can use a stand mixer for this recipe, and it makes the crust assembly in particular much easier…but you don’t need it; this taste aux figues can be assembled by hand.
Ingredients
For the crust, you’ll need:
- Butter (vegan)
- Icing sugar (if you only have granulated sugar, blitz it in the blender or a coffee grinder until powdery)
- Potato starch (1 tablespoon potato starch + 2 tablespoon water = a vegan “egg” perfect for this dough)
- Almond flour
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
You can find the walkthrough for the crust here, or keep reading.
And for the almond frangipane, you’ll need:
- Butter (vegan)
- Sugar (caster, preferably; see notes)
- Potato starch “eggs” (potato starch + water)
- Almond flour
- Almond extract
You can find the frangipane walkthrough here, or continue reading.
And, you’ll need a few figs sliced for decoration, plus icing sugar to sprinkle just prior to serving.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Let’s get to it.
Make your shortcrust dough: First, cream your butter and sugar together. The texture should resemble sandy clay; with a stand mixer, this takes about 1 minute. Next, mix in a potato starch “egg” (1 tablespoon starch + 2 tablespoon water, completely mixed). Add your all-purpose flour, almond flour, and salt; mix together until just incorporated.
Roll and rest the shortcrust dough: roll the dough to approximately ⅙″ thickness. I find it’s easiest to do this by placing the dough ball in between two nonstick baking sheets before rolling. You could also dust the dough with flour to prevent sticking.
Rest the rolled dough in the refrigerator for 30 – 60 minutes.
Make caster sugar (if necessary): caster sugar is finer than standard granulated sugar, but coarser than powdered sugar. It pays to use it in your frangipane assembly- the texture is much smoother. If you don’t have any on hand (I never do), easily and quickly make some by pulsing some granulated sugar in a coffee grinder for a few seconds.
Make vegan frangipane: Cream your butter and sugar together. Add potato starch “eggs” (1 tablespoon potato starch + 2 tablespoon water, thoroughly mixed = 1 “egg”); mix in. Incorporate almond flour and almond extract.
Pre-bake shortcrust: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the rested pâte sucrée dough from the fridge and peel one of the baking sheets away.
Flip the baking sheet over so the dough is on the underside of the sheet and resting on top of the tart pan. Peel the second baking sheet away from the dough, leaving it draped on the tart tin. Use your fingers to shape the dough (it can be imperfect!) and use a fork to puncture some holes along the bottom of the crust.
Pre-bake the shortcrust for 12-18 minutes, until lightly browned.
Add filling and bake the tart: Allow the tart crust to cool for about 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
Evenly spread the frangipane filling in the browned shortcrust; decorate as you like with sliced figs. (Hold off on the powdered sugar until the tart is baked.)
Bake the tart for 40 – 50 minutes, until the frangipane puffs slightly and begins to brown around the edges.
Sprinkle the tart with powdered sugar just before serving.
Variations
The almond frangipane compliments pears and peaches really nicely, too.
Equipment
A stand mixer makes creaming butter and sugar very simple.
A springform pan is essential for ensuring the structural integrity of the baked tart.
Storage
This tart is best consumed within 3 days of baking, but will keep for 5 – 6 days. Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Top tip
Sprinkle with icing sugar just prior to serving for the best visual effect.
FAQ
Bakewell tarts contain an egg custard filling; frangipane is an almond flour creme.
📖 Recipe
Easy Vegan French Fig Tart (Tarte aux Figues)
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer
- 1 springform pan
Ingredients
Pâte Sucrée
- 100 g vegan butter
- 50 g icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon potato starch
- 2 tablespoon water
- 50 g almond flour
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Frangipane
- 100 g vegan butter
- 100 g caster sugar
- 2 tablespoon potato starch
- 4 tablespoon water
- 100 g almond flour
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Toppings
- 3 whole figs sliced
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
For the pâte sucrée shortcrust:
- Cream your butter and sugar together. If using a stand mixer, you can top the butter in at any temperature and the mixer will soften it. If mixing by hand, allow your butter to soften slightly at room temperature, or blitz it in the microwave for 5 – 10 seconds.
- Combine your potato starch and water; mix until the flour completely dissolves. Add your potato starch egg into the creamed butter and sugar.
- Add almond flour, all-purpose flour, and salt. Don’t overmix!
- Now, shape the dough loosely into a ball. Transfer it onto a large silicone baking sheet or floured surface. Place a second silicone baking sheet over the dough or dust with all-purpose flour to prevent sticking.
- Set your rolling pin set to a maximum ⅙” thickness and roll the dough flat. Allow the dough to rest in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Remove the pâte sucrée dough from the fridge after it has chilled. If you used a second baking mat to smooth the dough, peel it away.
- Flip the sheet over so the dough is on the underside of the baking sheet and directly resting on top of the tart pan. Peel the silicone baking mat away from the dough. Your dough will be draped across the tart tin.
- Gently prod the dough to fit the tart pan. Patch and smooth small cracks with extra dough pinched off the sides.
- Use a fork to puncture venting holes along the base of the shaped shortcrust dough.
- Bake the pâte sucrée for 12 – 18 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove the parbaked shortcrust and allow to slightly cool before adding the frangipane filling.
For the frangipane cream:
- You should use caster sugar, which is finer than granulated sugar but courser than icing sugar. If you don’t have any caster sugar, you can make some easily: blitz your sugar in a blender or coffee grinder for 5 – 10 seconds to more finely mill some of the sugar granules.
- Cream your butter and sugar together. Again, if you’re using a stand mixer, the butter can be cold. If you’re mixing by hand, lightly soften it before creaming with the sugar.
- Mix the potato starch flour and water until the flour is dissolved completely. Add the potato starch “egg" to the creamed butter and sugar.
- Mix in almond flour and almond extract. Set aside.
Assemble the tarte aux figues:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Once the crust has cooled slightly, add a smoothed, even layer of frangipane to the tart.
- Thinly slice your figs and decorate the tart however you like. You can use as many figs as you prefer, though I suggest leaving some of the frangipane visible so you can monitor its cooking progress.
- Bake the tarte aux figues for 40 – 50 minutes or until the frangipane lightly puffs up and turns very slightly golden.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar just prior to serving. Makes 8 slices. This French fig tart keeps in a sealed, refrigerated container for 5 – 6 days.