September 21, 2017
Rob
,
5

No-bake cheesecake with fig and damson plum confit

September is the month of figs and Damson plums. Believe it or not, this is the first time in my life that I buy figs! I’m not a big fan of this fruit… and every time I tasted it in the past, it was somewhat sweet but not “wow”. Definitely nothing special.

Last week I’ve found this recipe of a cheesecake with a filling of figs and damson plums, all on top of a crunchy, buttery (and salty!) Breton shortbread and decided to give it try.

During the weekend, I went to the market here in Cannes hoping to find some figs with a “wow” taste, and ended up buying the only ones which looked ripe and appropriate for a Road To Pastry recipe! (I have high standards! You deserve the best!) 😛 All this came at 14€ per kilo…

Yes, apparently figs in Cannes are a luxury good.

I used a very exquisite variety of figs from Solliès, a small city near Toulon, and damson plums, which to me taste like plums, but they are better (and they are oval). 🙂

The recipe is very simple and does not take a long time to make: I started with the shortbread, then made the fig and plum confit (it’s not much different from a jam) and finally prepared the cheesecake batter which whipped up in less than 2 minutes! I think that you could finish making the dessert in around 1 hour if you’re well organized.

As for the presentation, I didn´t know how to present the cheesecake, so I made both a flat-top and a dome version. Which one would you choose?

 

Fig and plum cheesecake

Print recipe

Ingredients

Breton shortbread

85gUnsalted butter
70gGranulated sugar
30gEgg yolks (~1.5)
110gPastry flour
6gBaking powder
1 pinchFleur de sel (or kosher salt)

Cheesecake

250gCream cheese
250gHeavy cream
70gBrown sugar
42767Lime zest
42767Lemon zest

Fig and plum confit

220gFresh figs
110gFresh plums
30gGranulated sugar
42767Vanilla bean
6gPectin

Decoration

2Fresh figs
As neededNeutral glaze

Directions

Breton shortbread

1
Cream the room temperature butter and sugar until the mixture has a homogeneous texture
2
Incorporate the egg yolks
3
Add the flour, sifted together with the baking powder
4
The final dough must be smooth and soft, but make sure you don't overmix the dough
5
Roll the dough out to 6mm between two sheets of parchment paper or silicone mats. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or freeze for 30 minutes.
6
Cut 7cm rounds, place them on a parchment-lined tray and bake at 170°C for 15 minutes. If you bake each shortbread inside its cake round, they will rise and get their characteristic look. If you don't have enough cake rounds, simply bake them on the tray, but you will have to cut them again after baking, as they will spread out when the butter melts in the oven.

Fig and plum confit

7
Slice the figs and plums in quarters and place them in a saucepan with the vanilla seeds on low heat
8
Let the fruits stew for a few minutes
9
Mix quickly with an immersion blender
10
Add the pectin after mixing it with the sugar, then places the saucepan back on the heat and let it boil for 2 minutes
11
Remove the confit from the heat and let cool down at room temperature

Cheesecake

12
Whip the cold cream and cream cheese at medium speed to stiff peaks
13
Add the lime and lemon zest and incorporate them gently with a spatula
14
Place the Breton shortbread inside a 4cm tall ring, lined with a PVC strip
15
Pipe a bit of cheesecake batter on the shortbread
16
With a spatula, spread the cheesecake batter well on the side of the ring
17
Pipe some fig and plum confit (around 30g) in the middle
18
Cover everything with more cheesecake batter and smoothen the top. Freeze for at least 3 hours.
19
Alternatively, pipe the batter and confit in dome molds, then freeze and place over the shortbread when you thaw them

Decoration

20
Once the cheesecakes are frozen, remove them from the mold, pipe a dash of fig confit and place two slices of a fresh fig on top. Optionally brush with neutral glaze.

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