Creamy Fig and Honey Mascarpone Tart

Creamy Fig and Honey Mascarpone Tart is a beautiful summer fruit tart with creamy lemon mascarpone filling and sweet sliced figs glazed in honey. This approachable recipe requires a handful of fresh ingredients and can be made in under an hour.

This creamy fig tart is a seasonal fruit dessert to make during the late summer and early fall. Make it during fig season, when the figs are ripe and available in stores or at your local farmers market. This fruit tart is inspired by fig season and pairs well with my Prosciutto-Wrapped Figs with Goat Cheese and my Lemony Spring Risotto with Peas and Asparagus which also uses mascarpone.

Ingredients for a Fig Mascarpone Tart

This fig and honey lemon cream tart calls for simple ingredients you can find at your local grocery store in the summertime. To make the crust, you will need standard pantry ingredients, including flour and sugar. For the creamy lemon filling and top, you will need honey, ripe figs, lemon zest, and mascarpone.

Crust

• All purpose flour - flour forms the structure of the crust
• Unsalted butter - unsalted butter gives the crust a light and flaky texture.
• Sugar - sugar adds sweetness to the crust
• Salt - salt enhances the flavor of the other ingredients/
• Vanilla extract - vanilla extract adds a warm vanilla flavor to the crust.

Filling

• Fresh figs - a seasonal fruit available in the late summer and early fall. Figs have a jammy texture and a berry-like flavor.
• Mascarpone - a firm, spreadable Italian cream cheese made from cow's milk and citric acid. It is off-white in color and thick and creamy in texture.
• Fresh Lemon Zest - lemon zest adds a light citrus flavor that brightens the whipped mascarpone.
• Honey - add honey to sweeten the mascarpone and drizzle on top as a final touch.

See recipe card for quantities.

Steps to Make Fig and Honey Mascarpone Tart

Here are the easy steps to make this sweet summer fig tart:

1. Preheat oven - Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Make the Crust - In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Add butter and combine ingredients with your hands until the dough forms.
3. Place the Dough in the Tart Pan - Place the dough in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Then, use your fingers and press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan until even.  
4. Freeze the Tart Pan - After you press the dough into the pan, place the tart pan in the freezer.  Once cold, remove from the freezer and prick the dough with a fork. 
5. Bake the Tart Crust - Place in the oven on the middle rack and bake until golden. Once cooled, remove the crust from the oven and allow to cool before removing from the pan.  
6. Whip the Mascarpone Filling - In a large mixing bowl, add mascarpone, lemon zest, honey, and vanilla extract.  Then, whisk the ingredients until combined and fluffy. 
7. Assemble the Tart - Finally, spread mascarpone lemon mixture evenly in the tart shell using an offset spatula. Arrange sliced fresh figs on top of the mascarpone mixture and drizzle with honey.  

Substitutions

• Pre-made crust - if you don't feel like making your own crust, you can buy your own and use that instead.
• Gluten free crust - in order to make this recipe gluten free, use a pre-made gluten free crust or this gluten-free flour.
• Agave - you can replace honey with agave if you prefer the neutral flavor of agave.
• Goat cheese -Substitute 8 oz of the mascarpone with goat cheese for a sharper flavor.

Variations

Make this tart with your favorite fruit. Below are some recommended alternatives:

• Tiger figs - instead of mission figs, use tiger figs for a raspberry-citrus flavor.
• Peaches or Nectarines - these stone fruit are fragrant and sweet and a delicious alternative for summertime. See my White Peach and Cherry Galette for a galette version.
• Lemon juice - If you want to make this recipe extra lemony, add the juice of half a lemon or more lemon zest.
• Healthy - In order to make this recipe healthy, reduce the amount of sugar and/or replace it with a healthier sweetener like agave.

Equipment

This fig tart recipe requires just a few standard kitchen essentials. You will need a pairing knife or standard knife to slice the figs, mixing bowls, whisk, 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, spatula, and offset spatula. These are all items you can use for countless other recipes.

To explore more kitchen items to make your kitchen complete, head to my shop: Kat’s Kitchen Essentials.

How to Store the Tart

Since this creamy fig and mascarpone lemon tart is dairy-based, it must be refrigerated and stored in an air-tight container or a cloche. It should be enjoyed within 2 days of being made, so the fruit and mascarpone taste as fresh as possible.

Did You Like This Recipe?

If you loved this recipe, please rate and comment below. You can also try these other fruit dessert and pastry recipes:

• Easy Strawberry Shortcake with Homemade Cream
• Clementine Olive Oil Cake
• Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake
• White Peach and Cherry Galette

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5 from 4 votes

Creamy Fig and Honey Mascarpone Tart

Creamy Fig and Honey Mascarpone Tart is a beautiful summer fruit tart with creamy honey and lemon mascarpone filling and sweet sliced figs glazed in honey. Every bite of the lemony mascarpone is punctuated with the light, crisp tart crust, and sweet figs.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time50 mins

Course: Dessert, Sweets

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 12

Calories: 421kcal

Author: Kathleen Higashiyama

Ingredients 

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Crust

• ▢ 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ ¾ cup unsalted butter 1 ½ sticks, cubed
• ▢ 4 tablespoon sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon and Honey Mascarpone Filling

• ▢ 16 oz mascarpone
• ▢ 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• ▢ ⅓ cup honey plus more for drizzling
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 lbs figs stems removed and sliced

Instructions

Crust

• ▢
  Heat the oven to 350°F.
• ▢
  In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract.  Add butter and combine ingredients with your hands until the dough forms. Place the dough in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.  Use your fingers and press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan until even.  
• ▢
  Place the tart pan in the freezer for 15 minutes.  Remove from the freezer and prick the dough with a fork 10-12 times.  Place in the oven on the middle rack and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.  
• ▢
  Remove the crust from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.  

Lemon and Honey Mascarpone Filling

• ▢
  In a large mixing bowl, add mascarpone, lemon zest, honey, and vanilla extract. Whisk the ingredients until combined and fluffy. Pour the mascarpone mixture into the tart shell and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Arrange sliced figs on top of the mascarpone mixture and drizzle with honey.  

Notes

Since Fig and Honey Mascarpone Tart is dairy-based, it must be refrigerated and stored in an air-tight container or a cloche. It should be enjoyed within 2 days of being made, so the fruit and mascarpone taste as fresh as possible.

Nutrition

Calories: 421kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 199mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 991IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 1mg

Keyword: creamy tart, fig cake, fig recipe, fig recipes, fig tart, fig tart recipe, figs tart, fruit tart, mascarpone tart

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Food safety

• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.