Whats not to like about desserts made from seasonal fruits? This dish is a great appetiser to keep you going between lunch time and dinner and a perfect companion for the tea time ritual! Most importantly, a fruit tart is easy-to-make and you can pride in creating your own pastry masterpiece!

My fig and rhubarb tart with almond flakes is suitable for even the most inexperienced of beginners;

Firstly, prepare the filling with:
about 10 ripened figs (sliced)
2 medium rhubarb sticks sliced into sections of about 2 cm
a handful of flaked almonds
a couple of tbs of cane sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon

Place the rinsed, trimmed and sliced figs with rhubarb into the bowl, add almond flakes along with sugar. Mix gently. Sprinkle with lemon juice and leave in the fridge.

To make the dough you’ll need:
3 cups of the plain flour
1 tbsp of baking powder
1/2 cup of caster sugar for the dough
2 tbsp of caster sugar to bind the white eggs
4 chilled eggs
250g butter, preferably unsalted (not margarine)
seeds from 1/2 of vanilla pod or a few drops of vanilla extract

Mix flour with baking powder and add vanilla seeds and butter. Chop them with knife on the worktop surface or mix very slowly in a food mixer. Separate and add 3 egg yolks and 1 whole egg (keep the remaining egg whites for later!)
Mix all together and divide for 2 parts. Proportions I am using are:  3/4 of the mixture for the bottom of the cake and 1/4 of the dough to shred on top of the tart. Wrap both parts in some cling film and leave in the fridge to rest for about 30 mins.
TIP: to make this easier, roll the larger part of the dough to the size of the baking tray you’ll use and then put into the fridge.

In the meantime set up oven for 180C , bind the remaining egg whites  with the caster sugar and when thick, stir gently into the fruit mixture. Place all into the cake form with dough at the base. When filled, shred remaining 1/4 of the dough on top of the tart (the largest wholes in a cheese grater are best for this). Bake for about an 1 hour. If the top is baking too quickly, you can cover it by the baking paper or aluminium sheet to avoiding any burning.

It tastes best with vanilla ice cream and covered by dash of icing sugar on top.

Enjoy!