The Wickedfood cooking school team was in France, to find inspiration for our French cooking classes and teambuilding cooking classes. They came across this scrumptious tart on the lunch buffet at the Hotel Royale in Deauville

 

Shortcrust pastry
1 cup (250g) butter
1/2  cup (100g) castor sugar
1 egg
1 cup (135g) flour

Hazelnut butter
120g hazelnuts
1t water
1/3  cup (80g) butter, melted

Almond filling
200g egg whites
11/3  cup (260g) castor sugar
3/4  cup (80g) very finely ground almonds
1/2  cup (80g) flour
1/2 t vanilla essence
Fig topping
3-4 ripe figs, sliced
Butter and sugar for glazing

Shortcrust pastry

  • Carefully cream butter and sugar. Slowly add the egg and finally add the sifted flour. Once mixed, quickly blend.
  • Roll the pastry in a ball and leave in a cool place or fridge for one hour.

Hazelnut butter

  • Lightly grill hazelnuts. Reduce to a paste using a mortar and pestle or food processor, adding water.
    Add this mixture to the melted butter and strain.

Almond filling

  • Beat egg whites until fluffy and slowly add sugar, almond powder, flour and vanilla essence.
  • Add the lukewarm hazelnut butter and leave overnight in a cool place.

The tart

  • Line a pastry dish with the shortcrust pastry and fill with the almond filling.
  • Arrange the sliced figs on top of the tart, and brush with the sugar and butter mixture. Bake at 200°C for 20 to 30 minutes (until golden brown), glazing the figs 2 to 3 times during baking.

See the following articles on French food:

Summer berries with a red wine coulis

Roast pigeons in liqueur

Our six Normandy restaurants

Gastronomic tour of Normandy

A Taste of France

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.