Jamie Oliver Fig Tart

Jamie Oliver’s fig tart is a no-cook dessert with a blitzed fruit-and-nut base, a vanilla Greek yoghurt filling and fresh figs, finished with honey. It’s a five-ingredient, briefly-frozen tart that serves 8 in 10 minutes plus freezing.

In 5 Ingredients Mediterranean (2023) the whole point is a show-stopping dessert with no baking and barely any effort. A bag of luxury fruit-and-nut mix is blitzed into a sticky base, pressed into a tin, and set in the freezer while the yoghurt does the rest.

The clever base needs no butter or biscuits. The natural stickiness of the dried fruit binds the crushed nuts into a mouldable dough you press straight into the tin, so a food processor and a freezer do all the work.

Jamie Oliver Fig Tart

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Calories

300

kcal

Total time

10

minutes

Jamie’s no-cook dessert from 5 Ingredients Mediterranean: a blitzed fruit-and-nut base filled with vanilla Greek yoghurt, briefly frozen and topped with fresh figs and honey. Vegetarian, serves eight.

Ingredients

• 300g luxury fruit and nut mix

• 500g Greek yoghurt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• 1 teaspoon runny honey, plus extra to serve

• 4 perfectly ripe figs

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Directions

• Line the tin:Line a 20cm springform cake tin with greaseproof paper.
• Make the base:Blitz the fruit and nuts in a food processor until fine and tacky, so it’s easy to mould by hand. Press it into the base of the tin and 2.5cm up the sides.
• Chill:Freeze the base for 1 hour to firm up.
• Fill:Mix the yoghurt with the vanilla and 1 teaspoon of honey, then spoon into the chilled case. Freeze for a further hour, until slightly set.
• Finish:Release the tart from the tin, halve or quarter the figs and arrange on top, then drizzle generously with honey.

Notes

• Freezing: 2 hours (in stages)

FAQs

What holds the base together with no butter or biscuits?

The dried fruit does it. Blitzed with the nuts, sticky dried fruit like dates, raisins and apricots breaks down into a tacky paste that binds the crushed nuts into a mouldable dough, so there’s no need for melted butter or crushed biscuits. It’s naturally sweet, too.

Blitz it until it’s fine and clumps together when you pinch it, which is your sign it’s ready. Press it firmly into the base and up the sides with the back of a spoon so it holds its shape as a tart case. A “luxury” fruit and nut mix has a good, varied blend, but any decent mix works.

Why freeze it rather than chill it?

Freezing sets both the sticky base and the soft yoghurt firm enough to slice, which a fridge alone won’t quite manage with a no-bake filling. The base firms in the first hour, then the yoghurt sets in the second, so the tart holds together when you release it and cut it.

You only want it “slightly set”, not frozen solid like ice cream, so an hour for the filling is enough. It’s the same briefly-frozen trick behind banoffee fro-yo tart, which also uses Greek yoghurt as a light, set filling instead of cream.

What figs should I use, and can I swap them?

Use perfectly ripe figs, soft to the touch and heavy for their size, since their honeyed sweetness and jammy texture are the star. Under-ripe figs are dry and bland and won’t deliver. Halve or quarter them so the pretty pink inside shows on top.

Out of fig season, ripe fresh peaches, apricots, plums or a pile of berries all work beautifully arranged on the yoghurt. The figs go on right at the end, uncooked, so they stay fresh and juicy. A final generous drizzle of honey ties it together whatever fruit you use.

Why Greek yoghurt for the filling?

Thick, full-fat Greek yoghurt is what lets the filling set to a sliceable, creamy layer after freezing, where a thin, runny yoghurt would stay loose. It also brings a fresh tang that balances the sweet base and figs, so the tart isn’t sickly.

The vanilla and honey turn plain yoghurt into a proper dessert cream. Use full-fat rather than low-fat for the best texture and richness. It’s a lighter, fresher choice than the whipped cream or mascarpone you’d find in a classic tart, which suits the fruit.

Can I make it ahead, and how do I serve it?

It’s a great make-ahead, since it needs the freezing time anyway. Keep it in the freezer, then move it to the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes before serving so it softens to a sliceable, creamy texture rather than rock hard. Add the figs and final honey just before serving so they stay fresh.

Serve it in slices, with extra honey drizzled over and perhaps a scatter of chopped nuts. It’s an elegant, effortless dinner-party dessert. For a warm, richer citrus pudding another day, Jamie’s lemon curd tart is a lovely contrast.

Is it healthy, and can I make it vegan?

It’s on the lighter side for a dessert, built on fruit, nuts and yoghurt with no added refined sugar beyond a little honey, and it’s naturally gluten-free if your fruit and nut mix contains no added wheat. The nuts and yoghurt add protein and the figs bring fibre.

To make it vegan, use a thick coconut or other plant-based yoghurt that sets well when frozen, and swap the honey for maple syrup or agave. Check the fruit and nut mix has no yoghurt-coated pieces. The base is already plant-based, so it’s an easy set of swaps.