Fig & Strawberry Tart with Cardamom Cream and a Pistachio Shell

I'm in love with tarts. No, not the loose women who work in a bordello, the tasty creations brought forth from a simple fluted pan with a removable bottom. Actually, come to think of it...that does kind of sound like a loose woman.

As I was walking through the farmer's market on Monday I spied some beautiful figs. As I've mentioned before, I dig figs. They're tasty little guys. Husband wasn't too sure about them, but I think this tart may change his mind. I especially liked the cardamom cream. I had no idea what I was going to fill it with and contemplated using the vanilla bean pastry cream I have in my fridge. But, the pastry cream's intended for something else...and who wants to make pastry cream more often than you really have to, right? The cardamom cream is ridiculously easy, and soooo tasty. I had to come post this so I'd stop eating it out of the bowl. The pistachio shell is adapted from Tony Tahhan. And it is deeelishus. I didn't bother deviating from the recipe, so I won't post it here. But, if you're interested I highly recommend checking out his blog and recipes.




Fig & Strawberry Tart with Cardamom Cream and a Pistachio Shell

3 figs
1 pint strawberries
cardamom cream
pistachio tart shell

Pistachio Tart Shell

Cardamom Cream

1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cardamom seed, crushed

1. In a heavy saucepan combine all ingredients and heat until sugar is dissolved. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve and chill completely.

2. Using an immersion blender/hand mixer/whisk(for those of you who are bad ass) whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Chill until needed.

Assembly

Fill the tart shell with the cardamom cream, arrange sliced strawberries and figs over the top. Chill until served.