Fig Tarts

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 300 ml port wine, red
• 60 g sugar
• 2 carnations
• ¼ vanilla pod(s)
• 3 eggs, including the yolk
• 125 g butter
• 1 pinch of salt
• 300 g puff pastry
• 6 figs
• 1 egg(s), including the yolk
• 20 g sugar, fine
• 60 g brown cane sugar
• 1 lemon(s), squeezed
• 60 ml white wine
• 100 ml crème de cassis

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

For the ice cream, bring the port wine to a boil in a saucepan with half the sugar, the cloves, and the vanilla pod. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar and salt until creamy. Slowly add the hot port wine, stirring constantly. Transfer the cream to a metal bowl and set aside in a bain-marie to form a rose. Strain the cream through a fine sieve and let it cool to 35°C, gradually mixing in the butter with a mixer. Freeze the cream in an ice cream maker, then briefly return it to the freezer. Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface to a thickness of 3 mm and press into tart cases approximately 12 cm in diameter. Trim off any excess edges (for frozen cases, you’ll need one sheet of puff pastry per case). If you don’t have tart cases, cut out circles approximately 12 cm in diameter. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, pierce several times with a fork, and then use egg yolk to stick a ½ cm wide border around the edges (cut corresponding strips from the remaining puff pastry). Let the tart bases/pastry circles rest on the baking tray for another 10 to 15 minutes in a cool place. In the meantime, peel the figs and cut them into thin segments (like an apple), and cover the puff pastry bases. Whether one fig per base is enough depends on the size of the figs. If in doubt, buy two more figs so you have a reserve and eat any leftovers raw. Bake the fig tarts in a preheated oven at 200 °C for 10 minutes, dust with caster sugar, and bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes. For the sauce, lightly caramelize the sugar in a saucepan, deglaze with lemon juice, add the fig peels, and briefly glaze them. Add the white wine and cassis and simmer over reduced heat for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve and let cool. Place the tarts on plates, dust with powdered sugar, place a 1/4 scoop of ice cream in the center of each, distribute some of the sauce among the plates, and garnish with mint leaves. Serve the remaining sauce separately. The ice cream will be very creamy and won’t harden if you leave it in the freezer for 1-2 days. The sauce can easily be prepared the day before.