Fig & Bay Leaf Tarts

Makes 9

Ingredients

• For the pastry

  • Store-bough puff pastry sheets

• For the Bay Leaf Crème Pâtissière

  • 250 ml milk

  • 2-3 Bay Leaves

  • 50 gr sugar

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste

  • 12 gr cornstarch

  • 12 gr flour

• For egg wash

  • 1 egg

  • 1 tbsp milk

• For the topping

  • Fresh figs

  • Honey

Instruction

1. For the egg wash, beat the egg with milk. Set aside.

2. For the pastry, gently roll out the first sheet of pastry into a square. Cut into 9 equal pieces. Transfer them into a baking sheet and store them in the freezer.

3. Roll out the second sheet of pastry into a square. Cut the second sheet into 9 pieces and cut the insides of each in a square shape, leaving 1 cm/0.3 inch from the edges. Remove small inside squares.

4. Take the baking sheet out from the freezer. Apply an even egg wash. Transfer the border pastry pieces on top of the first pastry squares. Apply egg wash on top of the border pieces. Transfer back to the freezer for 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, preheat to oven to 190°C/375°F. Bake the pastry square for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Leave them to cool.

6. For the Crème Pâtissière, bring milk and bay leaves to simmer over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, in a medium-size bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, cornstarch, and flour for 1 minute. Once the milk starts simmering, take bay leaves out, and slowly pour milk over the egg mixture. Return the mixture to the pan, and cook until it thickens. Transfer it to a medium-sized bowl, and cover complete with cling film. Make sure cling film completely touches the cream to avoid skin forming. Leave it to completely cool.

7. To assemble, give Crème Pâtissière a good whisk, and divide between the pastries. Top each with figs, and drizzle honey. Enjoy!