Fig Filling For Pastry Recipes

Steps:

• Remove stems from figs with scissors. Chop in food processor in batches.
• In a non-stick pan, combine chopped figs with orange zest, chocolate chips, whiskey, walnuts, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Heat over medium heat until chocolate melts, stirring frequently. Cool completely.

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a 5-inch-round flat disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for exactly 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• On a floured board, roll the dough to a rectangle a little larger than 10-by-14 inches. Wrap the dough around your rolling pin and transfer it to the prepared pan. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the dough to a 10-by-14-inch rectangle. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Remove the stem of each fig and cut them in quarters through the stem (or in sixths, if the figs are very large.) Place the figs in rows on the dough. Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.
• Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the fruit starts to brown. Rotate the pan once during baking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The juices will burn in the pan but the tart (and the pan!) will be fine! When the tart's done, loosen it from the pan while it's still warm and transfer it to a board or clean piece of parchment paper.
• In a small pan, heat the apricot jelly with 2 tablespoons water and brush the fruit and pastry completely with the mixture. Allow to cool, cut into squares, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Lightly grease a baking sheet.Pre-heat oven to 175C/350F/Gas Mark 5.
• Put the figs in a saucepan with 300 ml (1/2 pint) water. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the figs are tender and the liquid is well reduced. Set aside to cool, then puree in a blender or food processor.
• Put the remaining ingredients for the pastry in a blender or food processor with 30 ml (2 tbsp) water and mix to a dough.
• Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface, then roll out to an oblong about 40 x 12 cm (16 x 5 inches).
• Spread the fig puree down the centre of the dough rectangle and carefully fold in the sides so that they overlap over the filling.
• Trim the ends of the roll and cut into 3 cm (1 1/4 inch) wide slices. Turn the rolls over and place on the prepared baking sheet.
• Mark the top of each roll with a wet fork and bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a rack.

Steps:

• Make pastry dough:
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
• Pulse butter, cream cheese, yolk, and vanilla in a food processor until smooth, then add flour mixture and pulse until dough just forms a ball.
• Halve dough and form each half into a roughly 6- by 2-inch rectangle. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Make filling:
• Purée figs, honey, juice, zest, and cinnamon in cleaned food processor until almost smooth.
• Make logs:
• Roll out 1 piece of dough between 2 sheets of wax paper into a 10- by 8-inch rectangle (about 1/3 inch thick), long side facing you. Remove top sheet of wax paper and gently spread one fourth of fig mixture over bottom half of dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Using wax paper as an aid, roll dough, jelly-roll style, halfway, enclosing fig mixture. Flip dough, with wax paper. Remove paper. Spread with one third of remaining fig mixture and roll in same manner, to form an S-shaped log. Make another log. Chill logs, wrapped in wax paper, until firm, at least 4 hours.
• Bake cookies:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Cut logs crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices and arrange slices about 2 inches apart on lightly buttered baking sheets. Bake until pastry is pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool.

Steps:

• Blend together flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Add yolks, vanilla, and water and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated and dough begins to form large clumps.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together (using a pastry scraper if you have one), then divide dough in half and form each half into a 5- to 6-inch disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Simmer figs, water, orange juice, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan, covered, stirring occasionally, until figs are soft and mixture is reduced to about 2 cups, 15 to 20 minutes. Pulse in a food processor until finely chopped (mixture should not be smooth). Transfer to a large bowl and cool slightly. Stir in butter, eggs, vanilla, zest, and walnuts.
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously butter springform pan. Roll out 1 portion of dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 12-inch round (dough will be soft; chill or freeze briefly if it becomes difficult to work with). Peel off top sheet of parchment and carefully invert dough into pan. (Dough will tear easily but can be patched together with your fingers.) Press dough onto bottom and 1 inch up side of pan, then trim excess. Chill tart shell until ready to assemble crostata.
• Roll out remaining dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 12-inch round. Peel off top sheet of parchment, then cut dough into 10 (1-inch-wide) strips and slide (still on parchment) onto a tray. Chill until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Spread fig filling in shell. Arrange 5 strips of dough 1 inch apart on filling. Arrange remaining 5 strips 1 inch apart across first strips to form a lattice. Trim edges of strips flush with edge of shell. Sprinkle crostata with sugar.
• Bake until filling is slightly puffed and pastry is pale golden, about 30 minutes. Cool completely, then remove side of pan. Serve crostata with mascarpone.v

Steps:

• For baking: 1 egg, beaten For dough, in a large mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add 1/4 pound soft butter and work finely into flour. Cut cold butter into 1/2 pieces and add to bowl. Work in until butter is left pea-sized. Drizzle water over mixture and toss in. If dough is dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed. Dough should be loose in bowl, not in a ball. Turn out onto work surface and pull together. Divide into 2 equal portions, flatten each slightly, and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour before rolling. (Refrigerate up to 3 days, freeze up to 6 months.) For the fig filling, in a large saucepan, combine all but 1/3 of the grated zest and butter, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until fruit is soft and liquid thickened. Transfer to a food processor and puree until smooth. Add butter and puree to blend. Add remaining zest and pulse in. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. To assemble and bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 11 by 17-inch baking sheet (up to 12 x18) with parchment paper. Remove one of the wrapped pieces of dough from the refrigerator and unwrap. Roll dough on a floured surface into a rectangle to fit the bottom and sides of the baking sheet. Line the sheet with the dough. Place the baking sheet in the freezer while the second piece of dough is rolled out in the same way. Remove baking sheet from freezer and spread fig filling evenly over the surface of the dough. Top with the second sheet of dough and pinch the edges to seal. Trim the excess dough. Brush surface of dough with beaten egg. Prick through the top layer of dough with a fork evenly over the surface (about 1 1/2 apart.) Place baking sheet on bottom rack of oven. Bake 25 to35 minutes, until dough is a light-medium golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Cut into portions (squares are traditional.)

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients and cook over low heat, stirring often, until reduced to a thick paste, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Spread filling on a baking sheet to cool.

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine the flour, shortening and salt; cover and process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water; stir in egg and vanilla. Gradually add to crumb mixture; pulse until dough forms a ball. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes., In a food processor, combine the figs, walnuts, water, grape jelly, orange zest and cinnamon; cover and process until blended. Set aside. , Separate dough into six portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 12x8-in. rectangle (dough will be very thin). Cut into 4x2-in. rectangles. Place a teaspoon of fig mixture on one short side of each rectangle; fold dough over filling. Press edges with a fork to seal. , Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Brush with egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 375° for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.

Steps:

• Cream together butter and granulated sugar in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, about 2 minutes. Add yolks, and mix just to combine. Whisk together dry ingredients, and add to yolk mixture; mix just until it comes together loosely. Transfer the dough to plastic wrap, press together, and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes, until firm.
• Prepare a 4 1/2-by-14-inch rectangular fluted tart tin with cooking spray. Roll out dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to about 1/8-inch thickness. Discard the top plastic wrap, and gently invert dough over the prepared tart tin. Discard the remaining piece of plastic wrap. Press dough into tin, and trim so dough is flush with edges. Repair tears or cracks by pressing together dough with your fingers. Place in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prick crust all over with a fork, and bake on the middle rack of oven until crust begins to color, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When cool, remove from the pan. Place on a serving platter or board.
• Place cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer, and beat until smooth. Add creme fraiche and confectioners' sugar, and beat until mixture is smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. Spread filling into cooled crust, and arrange figs on top, pressing them in slightly.
• To make glaze, combine the jam and wine in a small saucepan. Set over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, and simmer until mixture is thick and syrupy, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly, and brush warm glaze over figs with a pastry brush. Chill the tart in the refrigerator if not serving right away. Serve within several hours.

Steps:

• For filling: Finely chop figs in processor (do not puree).
• Combine with juice, sugar and peel in small saucepan.
• Simmer until thickened to consistency of jam, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and mix in vanilla and cinnamon.
• Cool completely.
• For pastry: Preheat oven to 350F (160C).
• Line 9 x 13 inch pyrex baking dish with foil.
• Cream butter with mixer until light; add sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• Combine flour, cornstarch and salt in small bowl to blend.
• Add to butter until mixture just starts to come together.
• Separate in half.
• Press one half into pan, just coming up sides slightly.
• Brush pastry edges with egg white.
• Spread filling over pastry, leaving a ¼ inch border.
• Crumble remaining pastry evenly over pan, and lightly pat down with hands, bringing to edge of pan.
• Combine 2 tblsps sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon.
• Brush pastry crust with remaining egg white and sprinkle evenly with cinnamon sugar.
• Bake until crust around edge is firm to the touch and pastry just begins to colour, about 1 hour, 20 minutes.
• Cool on rack.
• Remove pastry from pan, using foil as aid.
• Cut into 1 ½ inch squares.