Meeting Jill Colonna at Un Dimanche à Paris and a fig tart recipe

Jill Colonna's fig tart recipeToday I am welcoming the lovely Jill Colonna, author of Mad about Macarons.  I met up with her in Paris this summer for a delightful afternoon of tasty treats and non-stop chatter!

When Mardi asked me to guest post on her blog, I was so excited.  Imagine being asked to do something for eat. live. travel. write!  When Mardi was last in Paris, we met up for goûter or quatre heures. What a wonderful afternoon we spent together, indulging on a selection of light but decadent pastries.


Mardi had no hesitation choosing the spoon-clinging hot chocolate and myself, a pot of Ceylon Earl Grey which arrived with a timer and instructions to infuse the giant teabag for no more than 4 minutes.

Quatre minutes when you’re sharing funny stories of life in Paris?  We didn’t see the time pass so I’m sure any tea gourmets would have held their hands up in horror.  So, Mardi – next time you come to Paris this pastry jaunt has to be made into a ritual. We have to do this for our readers’ sake, n’est-ce pas?

Mardi’s readers are no stranger to French cuisine.  She always cooks up a storm in her kitchen – including macarons – to perfection.  So what could I serve up to her friends?  With such a short fig season, I’m currently adding figs to so many dishes.

Who gives a fig? I do. It’s the season!

At our local market in Saint Germain-en-Laye (just outside Paris) these figs are set out like jewels, individually nested in their crates begging, just try me for ripeness. Pick figs that are ripe but firm enough to the touch.  That way it will be easier to cut them into thin slices.

One of my personal favourites is this fig tart. It’s pretty to look at but light enough with a pot of Oolong orange blossom tea for Quatre Heures.  That way there’s still room for dinner! It’s so simple to make and easy to cut. The addition of orange flower water gives it that extra je ne sais quoi to the almond and honey base.

For that extra taste of France, I love to scatter just one dried lavender flower to the tart once it comes out of the oven.  Or sprinkle on a few flaked almonds.

Yield: 6-8

Jill Colonna's fig tart recipe

Jill Colonna's fig tart

A luscious fig tart by "Mad about Macarons" author, Jill Colonna

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • Round of ready-made puff pastry
  • 12-15 purple plump figs (ripe but firm enough to cut neatly)
  • 60g ground almonds (almond flour)
  • 2 tablespoons runny honey
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons orange flower water

Instructions

  1. On a baking sheet lined with greaseproof baking paper, prick the pastry with a fork and score a border 1cm in from the edge using a knife. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  3. Wash, dry and cut the figs finely, using a good sharp knife.
  4. Beat the egg and honey with a whisk in a bowl until light and creamy. Add the ground almonds and orange flower water. Using a spatula, spread the mix on the pastry.
  5. Place the figs in rounds on the pastry. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

did you make this recipe?

please leave a comment or review on the blog or share a photo and tag me on Instagram @eatlivtravwrite !


 Thank you so much Jill for guest posting today!  I highly encourage you to head over to Jill’s site, Mad about Macarons.  Her book is available on Amazon, Amazon Canada or with free worldwide shipping from The Book Depository!

 

Save

39 thoughts on “Meeting Jill Colonna at Un Dimanche à Paris and a fig tart recipe”

  1. Pingback: Mad about Macarons! Make Macarons like the French » Blog Archive » Guest Post over at EatLiveTravelWrite
  2. What a lovely guest post, Mardi 🙂

    Jill, this is one stunning tart! And I enjoyed the rundown of your tea date with Mardi. I would have over steeped my tea, too!!!

    Reply
  3. Mardi,
    Thank you so much for being such a wonderful hostess. Love your photos of your pastries and the tea-timer. We need to return so that I can have what you had! Jill xo

    Reply
  4. wish I had been able to meet up with Jill this summer but looks like she and i will have to plan something! Only wish you could be there too! Last time I went to Un Dimanche à Paris, I jumped the gun a bit. Their salon de thé doesn’t open until 3, I came at 11 hoping for a hot chocolate! Oops! On the (enormous) list of places to kick back.

    Reply
  5. Honestly, I can’t remember tasting this fruit, not only its difficult to get here but its really pricey. Great outcome in making the tarts and what a gorgeous stand out color of the fruit.

    Reply
  6. What a lovely way to spend an afternoon! Just as well the tea police weren’t around Jill, especially when you’d specifically been given a timer! Gorgeous tart. I don’t bother buying figs here – they are usually pretty yuk by the time they’ve made the journey. Maybe they’d be ok cooked. Your tart looks so wonderful I have to try it soon.

    Reply
  7. So nice you teamed up and had tea!
    Yes, the timing of the tea is very important.
    The figs are beautiful and look so ripe. I am sure they tasted full of flavour and fall.

    Reply
  8. Hi Mardi! I came here from Jill’s website. Arh, this fig tart looks so good… I’m bookmarking this recipe and hope to try it soon. I hope I can line up those fig slices beautifully like Jill did it… It was a wonderful guest post and I enjoyed reading it. 🙂

    Reply
  9. I’m here because I saw fresh figs. Pure and simple—figs are an expensive rarity here in New York state. That’s a hard reality to accept after growing up in California where we had fig trees in our back yard and growing wild along the path and buckets of figs could be had for nothing more than a little physical effort. Sigh. Lovely tart. I’m saving it and dreaming (and figuring out a way to grow figs in my 4-season backyard. Thank you!

    Reply
  10. Pingback: Mad about Macarons! Make Macarons like the French » Blog Archive » Quick and Easy Fig Tart Recipe
  11. Mardi,
    I came over here from Jill’s blog. You were very lucky to have Quatre Heures with Jill and make wonderful memories over tea and chocolate

    Jill, a great guest blog, and your pictures are stunning as always. I love reading about adventures in Paris.

    Reply
  12. As a fig lover (after all, who doesn’t?!), this looks divine and I am definitely going to have to try it when the season comes early next year.

    Reply
  13. Gorgeous fig tart!! That Jill is a master-o-macarons and now master-o-tarts as well! I thoroughly enjoyed this post!!

    Reply
  14. Pingback: Mad about Macarons! Make Macarons like the French » Blog Archive » Thank you for the Macarons
  15. Gosh, Mardi, you’re making me blush. Ditto, my friend. Let me know next time you’re in Paris – we have to continue some serious pastry tastings! Thanks again for being such a wonderful host. J xo

    Reply

Leave a Reply to penny aka jeroxie Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe