db: fig and ricotta tian
The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.
Unfortunately, I got distracted by figs and ricotta and honey. Or perhaps I should say fortunately, because I love figs and ricotta and honey – and this was a perfect opportunity to get them blending…
I’d never tried a fig until I hit the ripe old age of 22.
Shocking isn’t it? And even then, it wasn’t until I’d heard tirades about their floral sweetness, their perfect partnering with all things fresh and savory, their… “Would you just go and eat a fig already? If you don’t eat one in the next month I’ll buy one for you and make you try one!”
They sat in a salad, in the bistro overlooking Bondi Beach. I sat with my mother, sharing a beer, as is our habit when eating anywhere even vaguely resembling a pub.
We stared at them, curious. A swipe with the fork. A corner sliced off with a knife. Then silence. “How is it? What does it taste like?” asked mother, eyes wide with anticipation.
“Mmmmmmmmm…..” came my response.
Then there were figs with cheese and figs with yoghurt. Figs sliced up and paired with salty crackers, crumbly ricotta and fragrant honey. Figs eaten one after the other until my teeth were furry and my tongue sore.
So I threw them together with an orange blossom water and vanilla sable. Spread a meandering layer of figgy compote over the top, piled on a layer of ricotta, yoghurt and honey mousse, and topped it with a layer of fanned figs.
Dark, bitter, crunchy caramel coated fig on the side. A swirl of honey on the plate. Delicious.
Ricotta, Honey & Yoghurt Mousse
If you can’t be bothered assembling a tian, use this mousse as a base to a dessert-in-a-glass and topped with crumbly shortbread, fresh figs and a swirl of honey. Tangy, sweet, floral deliciousness!
You will need:
200ml natural yoghurt
250g fresh ricotta
250ml thickened cream
1tbsp gelatin powder
3tbsp warm water
3tbsp honey
How to do it:
1. Tip your ricotta, yoghurt, cream and honey into a mixing bowl and whisk, whisk, whisk(!) until the ricotta is broken down and smooth and the cream has been beaten into stiffish peaks.
2. Add your gelatin to the warm water and whisk, whisk, whisk(!) with a smaller whisk until it is incorporated and you can’t feel the granules between your fingers if you rub them together.
3. When the gelatin mixture has cooled to not-warm-anymore, add it to the cream mixture and whisk again until incorporated. You could, of course, do steps 1 and 3 in an elextric mixer, as I did, but it’s so simple that a mixer isn’t really required, is it?
4. Tip it into serving glasses or moulds and put in the fridge for four hours or overnight to set.
Handy Hint: if you want to use circular ring moulds, as I have, curl up an overhead transparancy sheet in them first. It will make it easier to remove teh ring mould, and then all you’ll need to do is peel off the plastic!
24 bites more on “db: fig and ricotta tian”
Ummm it’s the heavenly trio – figs, honey, caramel… what’s not to love?
oh i love fresh figs – they’re so soft and sensual and disturbingly sexy. lol. the mini tians are so cute and i love the transparency sheet tip. hellooo office stationery cupboard!
your tian is so gorgeous!! love how all the figs nicely fanned out like a flower! And that thick layer of ricotta. PHWOAr!!! I WANT ONE NOW! LOL!
Very nice tian. I think your ricotta version has a bit more body than just cream in the original which gives it shape. Great job.
Mmm figs, ricotta, honey…. so greek!
I used to hate figs as a kid, and it wasn’t until I was at Uni and they gave us dried figs as part of the lunch buffet that I decided to give them another try, and I now love them too. Your tian looks fab, and I especially love the toffee covered fig.
Mmmm love the flavour combination! and hee hee as Billy said – thick layer of ricotta FTMFW!
Fig and honey? Yes please! Thanks for the tip with the transparency sheet too. Your presentation is superb
Waw !
And the pictures are so beautiful !
I love your challenge, what a good idea to use Fig
If I could I would have taste it !
Confession: I didn’t try a fig until a few years ago. It’s just not something that I grew up with. But anyway, your tians (especially the smaller ones) look fantastic. Figs, ricotta and honey sounds like a winning combination.
What a fantastic and gorgeous looking dessert! It’s too easy to get distracted by figs, isn’t it
Wow this is not a fruit I expected to see in this challenge, this sounds absolutely amazing.
Oooo what a lovely tian you made here… I must admit I haven’t tried figs too (well I had dried figs but I guess that doesn’t count..)
Oh gosh, I adore figs too. The little fruit shop near me in Oxford got so used to me buying three or four to just eat as they are that I didn’t need to order them! What a wonderful idea to use them here.
This one gets my vote for “most gorgeous”!! Amazing job!
OH. MY. GOSH!!! This looks and sounds utterly amazing! I so wish I could have eaten some of this! Fantastic job!!
Figs! What’s not to love about that! Then add ricotta and honey! Nothing more to say! Fantastic!
Great idea this figs tian!!! I used a ricotta cream, too…I think that it’s better than whipped cream in this dessert..:-)
beuatiful tians!!!!
Kisses
Ago
Your version looks amazing even though I am not a fan of figs. Would love to try some of yours though
This is absolutely my favourite version of this month’s challenge. I love figs too so will save your recipe until they are in season here. I can’t wait!
Figs are truly amazing and your story was the perfect introduction for your interpretation of the challenge. This looks fantastic!
Sooooo pretty! I love figs and this sounds delectable.
these look so pretty! (: Figs, never really tried them, but looking at these, I really should!
Absolutely delish – I have such a weakness for figs – they taste great with greek yogurt too.