There’s so much good produce in the summertime—it’s hard to pick favorites. But if I were pressed to, a ripe juicy fig would definitely be in my top three. I love this fig cheesecake because it lets the fresh figs be and allows you to enjoy them in all their raw and decadent glory, simply quartered and adorned atop the cheesecake tart. And with a little extra drizzle of honey and pinch of crunchy pistachios over the top, it makes for a wonderful mix of textures and flavors.

I made this tart for a special project I’m working on with my dear friend Bea Lubas, and I’ll be sharing more about that later in the fall (you can sign up for my email list to find out the details asap once released!) Also, her book all about food photography just came out and it’s absolutely incredible—highly recommend it! For the project, I wanted to make something beautiful and delicious, and I knew I had the best of both worlds when I spotted these plump green figs at the farmer’s market. I’m not quite sure what variety they are (it was simply labeled ‘figs’ at the farm stand) but goodness were they good. So sweet and syrupy inside, and the skin was so thin you could eat them whole with no problem.

I drew a bit from my Greek food heritage for the other components, using goat’s cheese and honey in the fig cheesecake filling, almond in the crust, and pistachios sprinkled on top. You really can’t go wrong with flavor combinations that have stood the test of time for thousands of years 🙂 The same goes for this fresh fig, grape, and ricotta salad I whipped up last summer (if you’re looking for more fresh fig recipe inspiration!) There’s some salty proscuitto and tangy balsamic in that one, too, which makes for an out of this world summery salad! I hope you enjoy this tart as much as I did, and are soaking up this last bit of summer. I’ll be back again next week with one more fig-centric recipe for the season!

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Fig Cheesecake Tart with Honey and Pistachios

Course Dessert

Cuisine Greek

Keyword fig

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 40 minutes

Chilling Time 5 hours

Servings 12 people

Calories 301kcal

Ingredients

Almond Crust

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 5 ounces butter cold and hard
• 8 to 12 tablespoons ice water

Chevre Cheesecake Filling

• 8 ounces plain goats cheese at room temperature
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs whisked, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup whole milk at room temperature

Toppings

• 6 to 8 figs quartered
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios

Instructions

Almond Crust

• In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon until blended. Cut the butter into pea sized pieces over the bowl, stopping to stir every few minutes to coat the butter pieces in the flour mixture.
• Use your fingertips to pinch the butter pieces in the flour until the mixture resembles the texture of damp sand. Add the water and stir to combine, then knead the dough with your hands until it comes together, about 10 to 30 seconds. If the dough sticks together when you grab it and squeeze it in your hand, it's fine. If it falls apart, add another tablespoon or two of water.
• Transfer the dough to a clean surface, pat it into a circle, cover it, and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll out the dough into a roughly 12-inch circle and transfer it to a greased 9-inch tart pan, trimming off any excess edges. Use a fork to poke holes all over it and place it in the freezer for 4 hours or overnight.

Chevre Cheesecake Filling

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the goat cheese, honey, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix until combined. With the stand mixer mixing at low speed, add the milk in a thin steady stream. Mix until incorporated and smooth. Set aside.
• Place the tart shell on a baking sheet. Line the inside of the tart shell with a piece of tin foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and remove and discard the aluminum foil. Press down any areas of the crust where air bubbles have formed. Add the cheesecake filling and bake until edges are set but the center is still very slightly wobbly, about 15 to 20 more minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before removing the sides of the pan. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to help firm up the filling.
• Top with the quartered figs, creating concentric circles of the fig slices on the top of the tart. Drizzle with the honey and sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 301kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 168mg | Potassium: 107mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 579IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 1mg