Tarte au Fromage with Goat Cheese, Crème Fraîche, and Honey Drizzled Figs
Tarte au fromage is how the French do cheesecake or, at least how they traditionally did, before they fell in love with the New York style cream cheese based version, which has currently invaded their dessert status quo.This ethereal, moist cake harkens back to the more classic incarnations, with its not too sweet filling that’s tender and relatively fluffy, lightened with beaten egg whites.
The usual cheese for a tarte au fromage is fromage blanc, a supremely mild, yogurt like white cheese that’s hard to find in the United States. In my version, I substitute a mix of savory goat cheese and crème fraîche, which gives the filling a pronounced tang that I balance with a sweet cookie crust.
The topping couldn’t be simpler if you can get fresh figs: Just pile them on top of the cake and drizzle them with the darkest, most intense honey you’ve got. I like chestnut honey, but buckwheat honey is good, too. And if you can’t get good fresh figs, use whatever fresh juicy fruit you can find, berries, apricots, or peaches in summer, or tangerine segments or pineapple in winter. Or serve slices of this naked on the plate, which is exactly how it’s done in France.
SERVES 12
1¼ cups (125 grams) crushed sablé cookies, butter cookies, or shortbread cookies (I like La Mère Poulard brand sablés; digestive biscuits will also work but are not quite as rich tasting; ditto graham crackers
4 tablespoons (½ stick / 56 grams) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup (8 ounces / 227 grams) crème fraîche
4 ounces (1 cup) goat cheese, softened
2 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
¹⁄³ cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 grams) sugar
1 pint (12 ounces) fresh figs, quartered
1 to 2 tablespoons chestnut honey (or other good dark honey)
Fennel fronds or torn fresh mint leaves, for garnish (optional)
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the ground cookies with the melted butter. Then press the mixture evenly into a 10 inch tart pan. Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden all over, 10 to 13 minutes. Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack, but leave the baking sheet in the oven. Let the crust cool while you prepare the filling; the crust can be warm or completely cool when you fill it.
3. While the crust is baking, prepare the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the crème fraîche, goat cheese, egg yolks, and the ⅓ cup sugar until smooth (or use a bowl, a whisk, and some elbow grease).