Fig Marscapone Galette

One of my favorite things about DC so far is living across the street from Eastern Market. I like being able to go in and buy a few slices of bacon, or a loaf of bread, or a peach turnover whenever I need it. What I really love, though, is the farmers and flea market every Saturday and Sunday.

The fruit and vegetables are piled high in glorious colorful heaps. There are peaches, plums, apples, peppers, big bunches of herbs and my new obsession, Asian pears. They’re crisp, juicy, flavorful and taste great on salads.

Another juicy gem I found last weekend was a basket of figs. I am not very familiar with fresh figs, but they were such a pretty, plump purple color that I was unable to resist buying them. I brought them home and knew the only thing I wanted to make with them was a galette. I’ve seen a number of other blog posts about them – some savory, some with reduced balsamic vinegar – so I needed to come up with my own little twist.

Cheese.

Marscapone cheese.

And honey and almonds.

This free form tart was fun to make and came out very tasty.  Since I was winging it a little with this recipe I had to keep adding more sugar to the top after it was baked and pop it back in the oven for a bit.  The figs needed more sugar than I thought they would to bring out their flavor.  The amount I list is an approximation, so if you end up making your own I would use your judgment based on how sweet the figs you get are and how sweet you like your desserts.

OH wait, the crust.  Let me just talk about that for a sec.  It was hands down the best pie crust I have ever made.  Simply Recipes has really come through with deliciousness lately.  Besides being easy, it was flaky, buttery, golden and so so tasty.  With a crust like that, you can really use whatever fruit, cheese and nut combo you like.  Instead of cheese, you could use a fruit preserve as the base for your galette.

I made two 7-8 inch galettes so I could take one to some friends.  You could easily make one bigger one.

inspired by this and this.

1 (9 in) pie crust, divided in half and chilled
1 pint of figs, gently washed, dried and quartered
4 oz marscapone cheese
2 tablespoons honey
pinch of salt
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted, cooled, and divided into two piles
3-5 tablespoons sugar (I really lost track of how much I was sprinkling on.  I would say it was a generous layer of sugar on the figs.)

1) Mix marscapone, honey and salt in a small bowl.  Keep in fridge until ready to use.

2) Roll crust out on a lightly floured surface into a 10-in circle.    Spread  1/2 of marscapone mixture on crust leaving a 1 1/2 inch border.  Sprinkle some almonds from one of the piles on the cheese.  Arrange 1/2 of figs in a circular pattern and sprinkle the rest of the almonds from the pile on top of them.  Sprinkle sugar on. Fold crust over fruit making pleats as you move around.

3) Place tart on a parchment paper or silicon lined baking sheet.

4) Repeat steps with second tart.

5) Bake tarts at 375° for 45-55 minutes until crust is golden and fruit is bubbling.  (My oven doesn’t have any numbers on the knob so I am still figuring it out.  This temperature and time is based on the Simply Recipes galette.  Mine cooked for about an hour at who knows what temperature.)

You can serve this with a dollop of marscapone drizzled with honey, or ice cream, or with yogurt for breakfast.

Banana Muffins with Nutella Frosting

Cold showers are not much fun.  John and I are on day five without hot water.  My list of excuses for not taking one is getting longer and more unreasonable than it normally is.  For example: “I don’t need a shower because the dog still smells worse than me.”

We can’t get the gas company to turn the correct meter on.  I’m not sure how it could be so difficult since there are only two meters.  Also, what’s up with them saying someone will show up between 7 and 5.  That’s 10 hours!  Can’t they narrow it down a little?!

Sorry, but now that that’s off my chest, John and I made it to DC!  We are so excited to be here and love our new home.  Even though it’s a basement apartment, there’s lots of light, high ceilings and plenty of room.  We are settling in slowly, making lots of trips to IKEA and hanging out at the park most days.  The weather is great; I can’t wait for Fall to come and to see snow again.

We are just a few blocks from Lincoln Park, which is great because Motu loves it.  People go and just let their dogs off their leashes to run around and play.  That is, until someone yells “Park Police! Grab your dogs!”  Apparently, it’s not a city-sanctioned dog park, just a gathering of law-skirting citizens who want their dogs to leave them alone for a little bit.

It’s a great place to meet people, however.  In the half-dozen times John and I have been there, we’ve met a Gator alumnus (I could tell because Motu was playing with his dogs and they were wearing Gator collars), a fellow Art Institute culinary student and a friend I know from working in Moorea.

These muffins are one of the last things I made before leaving Gainesville.  They may look like cupcakes, but the cake part is not too sweet and really, neither is the frosting.

Since I made the muffins as is from Simply Recipes (without the nuts) and they were great, I will just link to it.  And the frosting is only three ingredients with the amounts based on taste preference, so lucky me, I don’t have to type much up!

Banana Muffins with Nutella Frosting

Banana Muffins from Simply Recipes

Nutella Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup Nutella, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar, more or less to taste.
Banana chips (optional)

Beat cream cheese in electric mixer with paddle attachment until smooth and a little fluffy.  Add Nutella and beat until well mixed.  Add confectioners sugar (turn off mixer, add sugar, then turn back on slowly) until incorporated.  Mix on medium high until lighter in color and texture.  Let sit in fridge for 10-20 minutes until it firms up.  I put mine in a zip-lock bag and cut off one of the corners so I could pipe it on the muffins.  Garnish with banana chips if you like.