Caramelized Fig and Smoked...Caramelized Fig and Smoked Rosemary Tart with Tonka Bean Crèmeux

An elegant avant-garde dessert pairing the earthy warmth of smoked rosemary-infused figs with a velvety tonka bean crèmeux, encased in a delicate, buttery pâte sablée.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   To make the Pâte Sablée, cream the softened butter and powdered sugar together. Mix in the almond flour, egg, and sea salt. Gently fold in the all-purpose flour until just combined. Roll out between two sheets of parchment paper to 3mm thickness and chill for 1 hour.

2. 02

   Cut dough and line six 8cm perforated tart rings. Freeze for 20 minutes. Blind bake at 170°C (340°F) for 15-18 minutes until uniformly golden-brown. Let cool completely.

3. 03

   For the Tonka Crèmeux, bloom gelatin sheets in ice-cold water. In a saucepan, bring heavy cream, milk, and grated tonka bean to a boil, then remove from heat. Whisk egg yolks and 40g of caster sugar until pale. Temper with the hot cream, return to the pan, and cook to 82°C (180°F) while stirring constantly.

4. 04

   Remove crèmeux base from heat, stir in squeezed gelatin, and pour over the chopped white chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute, then emulsify with an immersion blender until completely smooth. Cover with plastic wrap directly touching the surface and chill for 4 hours.

5. 05

   For the Smoked Fig Compote, chop 5 of the figs. In a saucepan, dry-caramelize the remaining 50g of caster sugar, deglaze with lemon juice, and add the chopped figs. Cook on low heat until soft and jammy. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Ignite a sprig of rosemary with a blowtorch until smoking, place it on a small foil sheet inside the bowl with the figs, seal tightly with plastic wrap, and let smoke for 10 minutes. Discard the burnt rosemary.

6. 06

   Assemble by spreading a generous layer of the smoked fig compote into the base of each cooled tart shell.

7. 07

   Whip the set Tonka Crèmeux slightly to a piping consistency. Pipe elegant, smooth domes of crèmeux over the compote. Garnish with sliced fresh figs, toasted pine nuts, and tiny fresh rosemary leaves.