Figs  are in season now  and the varieties we have available is stunning and my mind is working overtime, thinking of new and exciting ways to enjoy them. Not that you need a recipe to enjoy figs, because some people will trade their lives for a sweet, chilled fig

Figs were never one of my favorite fruits as a child. Peaches, yes! Apples, watermelon, grapes and prickly pears yes, but never figs. I hated the seeds on the inside and if the fig was over-ripe and mushy, I would not even touch it, let alone eat it! Luckily, I have grown up, because figs are…….  for adults dare I say.  Figs were one of the first fruits cultivated by man and it was already in  9400–9200 BC.  After all Adam and Eve had to hide their nakedness using fig leaves and since then fig leaves have been used in paintings and sculptures to hide  private parts and even proverbially we all sometimes hide behind fig  leaves. To me, figs are on of the sexiest objects to photograph and I am clearly not alone in thinking that, just look at all the stunning photographs with figs on Pinterest!

As I have said, figs and cheese are perfect partners and the clever people at Fairview have yet again hit the nail on the head, by combining their White Rock with Glazed Figs to join the other two cheeses in the family…. White Rock with Dried Apricots and White Rock with Cherries.

The cheese is  sweet, salty and just perfect on a cracker, a slice of bread or even just on its own or with a fresh fig on the side. Of course, you should know by now, I always try to improve on perfection, so I wanted to use this cheese in little tarts to serve after a meal with coffee. The tarts were everything I had hoped it would be. Not overly sweet or rich, just perfect to end off a meal. I will show you how easy it is.

Fig and Cheese Tarts

makes 16 tarts

Ingredients

1 roll puff pastry – I use Woolworths brand

1 x 250 g tub Lancewood Cream Cheese

1 x 100 g Fairview White rock with Glazed Figs

125 ml cream

3 eggs

20 ml honey

fresh figs for serving

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180 C. Spray a muffin pan with Spray ‘n Cook. Roll out the puff pastry and cut 16 circles with your cookie cutter to fit into the base of the muffin pans. Place the pastry in the muffin pans. Mix the cream cheese, eggs, honey and cream together and pour into the muffin pans, just to the edge of the pastry. Crumble the Fairview White Rock with Glazed Figs into each tart. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until tarts are puffed out and cooked. Serve with fresh figs.