Rustic Fig Tartlets

Rustic fruit tarts, also known as galettes, are a wickedly easy way to impress people who visit you for brunch. They’re also a great way to impress yourself when you’re snacking alone and need a little cheering up (or even if you don’t). Whether it’s breakfast or dessert, this is the kind of recipe that every chef needs to have in their back pocket.

Rustic Fig Tartlets
Yield: 4

For the dough:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp cane sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks
1/4 cup cold water
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Up to 2 Tbsp additional water

For the filling:
1/4 cup apricot jam (I used Trader Joe’s reduced sugar apricot preserves)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
Approx 2 cups dried black mission figs

Prepare the dough:

1. Mix dry ingredients.
2. Cut in Earth Balance until mixture resembles small crumbs or pebbles.
3. Add 1/4 cup cold water and vinegar and combine with fork until dough forms. If it’s dry, add water 1 tsp at a time until the consistency is correct.
4. Knead a few times until the dough is cohesive.
5. Wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Make the tartlets:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a bowl, cover dried figs with hot water to rehydrate. If using fresh figs, this is not necessary.
3. In a small bowl, combine preserves and spices and set aside.
4. Remove stems and slice figs thinly.
5. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces and roll out on floured surface to 7-8 inch circles.
6. Spread 1-1/2 tsp preserves on each dough circle, spreading with a spatula or the back of a spoon over the entire surface.
7. Arrange figs on your dough circles, leaving 1/2 inch of dough on all edges.
8. Fold edges of dough inward, pressing down slightly as you work around the circle.
9. Brush dough edges with reserved fig soaking water.
10. Bake 25-30 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Incidentally, this post was inspired by a photo I saw on Apartment Therapy last week. The post was aboutafternoon tea but it included a divine photo of a rustic fig tart that had me — and many of the commenters — drooling on our desks. After baking my tartlets, I got a little silly and decided to take a few shots mimicking the ones on AT just for fun. I kill me.