Recipe: Warm Fig and Raspberry Tart with Marsala Sabayon

This month's recipe comes from Janet Rikala. Janet began her baking career at an old country inn in Maine. From there, she moved to California in 1987, and within a few years she became the pastry chef at Postrio, Wolfgang Puck's exciting and innovative restaurant in San Francisco.

At Postrio, Janet was responsible for a huge assortment of bread and pastries; everything made fresh daily. As Janet says, "Our focus (was) to find the best product, do something fun and treat it so that the flavor comes through". In 1996, San Francisco Focus magazine named Janet the Pastry Chef of the Year in their annual tribute to the best chef's in the Bay Area. To read more about Janet, click here.

Here's a recipe that Janet gave me for the web site. This seasonal recipe takes full advantage of the abundance of figs that's available if you live where they're available.

Warm Fig and Raspberry Tart with Marsala Sabayon
4 tartlets

Ingredients:

For the crust:

19 ounces flour, (Janet recommends pastry flour)- see note

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound butter, cubed, chilled

1 pound cream cheese, cut into small pieces

For the tartlets:

12 fresh Black Mission figs

4 teaspoons sugar

4 teaspoons butter, melted

1 basket raspberries

1/4 cup sugar

For the sabayon:

5 egg yolks

1/2 cup marsala

1/4 cup sugar

Make the crust by combining the flour and salt. Cut in the butter until it's the consistency of small meal. Cut in the cream cheese, working quickly. Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap for 2 hours. After 2 hours, roll the dough on a floured surface 1/3"-1/4" thick. Cut into 4 six-inch circles. Roll the outside of the circle in a bit to form a lip. Chill on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and chill until ready to assemble.

To assemble the tartlets, slice the figs into even circles and lay in a circular pattern on top of the dough rounds. Sprinkle the figs with the sugar and brush with the melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Combine the rapsberries with the 1/4 cup of sugar and top each tart with the raspberries for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

For the sabayon, in a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, marsala and sugar. Place over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk vigorously until thick. Serve a spoonful of the warm sabayon with each tartlet.

Note: If you don't have pastry flour, you can spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch into a 1 cup measuring cup, then add enough all-purpose flour to total 1 cup. Use this mixture in place of each cup of pastry flour called for in your recipes.

Professional bakers use pastry flour often in doughs since it makes a more tender crust.