Decadent Pear, Fig & Cheese Tart Recipe

What could be better than a pear, fig, and cheese tart recipe made with delicious gouda from Wisconsin Cheese? This appetizer is heavenly and one of my favorite mini tart recipes.

A few years ago I was invited to participate in the Mom Blog Tour, heading to New York City to meet with a handful of amazing brands. One of those brands was Wisconsin Cheese, the "exclusive dairy" of the Mom Blog Tour Summer Fancy Food Show 2016, and the brand name of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

It was fascinating to learn that 99% of Wisconsin fresh milk goes into making cheese, and 99% of farms in Wisconsin are family-owned.

They obviously know what they are doing, because Wisconsin has won more awards than any other state or country for their delicious Wisconsin Cheese! In fact, 25 % of the cheese in the US comes from Wisconsin.

Tasting so many glorious cheeses got me thinking about what I might make when I got home. Wisconsin Cheese is so creative, they even had cheese pairing tins for us. Aren't these adorable?

Inside was all kinds of deliciousness!

Wisconsin Cheese sent me a fabulous package of cheese and challenged me to get creative with one of the cheeses they sent me, hence the cheese tart recipe.

Which cheese to use was a hard decision! They sent Wisconsin mozzarella, blue, gouda, and cheddar. I decided to go with the gouda because the sweet notes give it a taste like caramel so I thought it would pair well with the figs.

I have a few ideas up my sleeve for the other cheeses, too. You can do so much with Wisconsin Cheese!

Pear, Fig & Gouda Cheese Tart

I haven't made these in a long time and my husband asked me why last night! I guess I need to get to the grocery store.

Ingredients

To make this cheese tart recipe, you will need a prepared pie crust, egg, pears (I used Bosc), fresh figs, date syrup, balsamic reduction, fresh rosemary, and Gouda cheese. (I used Marieke Gouda from Wisconsin Cheese.) You'll also need tart pans.

How to Make this Cheese Tart Recipe

Use a rolling pin to spread out the pie dough a little on a floured surface. Cut circles of pie crust about 1 inch larger than tart pans.

I used a small bowl a little larger than the pan, but you could also just judge about an inch extra all the way around so you have enough to go up the sides of the pan. Rustic style tart pastry is very forgiving!

Fit the dough in the tart pan using your finger tips to push it up the sides. Cut off any excess dough but don't throw it away until you've finished with all the tarts, just in case you run into trouble.

If you don't have a fluted tart pan, just use the tines of a fork to give the crust a pretty look and push it up on the sides of the tart mold.

Place each tart crust on a baking sheet or shallow pan.

Whisk egg yolk, and brush over crust. These pretty tart shells could be filled with so many different ingredients!

You could use pie weights to make sure the pastry shell doesn't bubble, but I didn't have a problem.

Bake cheese tart at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. If your oven doesn't have uniform heating, move the front crusts to the back halfway through. You want the crusts to be browned, but you need to be careful not to burn the bottom of the crust.

While tart shell is baking, thinly slice pears and slice each fig into 4 pieces.

Spread the fruit out on aluminum foil or a baking mat and drizzle with date syrup. Broil until date syrup is bubbly and fruit is tender.

Thinly slice cheese. (We nibbled as we sliced. How can you not? So delicious!)

Remove each baked tart tin from oven when done, filling each with slices of Gouda.

Place the tarts back in the oven just until cheese melts. Your mouth will be watering at the aroma of the tarts!

After removing from the oven, immediately place on a wire rack and distribute pears and figs on top of the tart.

Drizzle with balsamic reduction and garnish with a piece of rosemary. This cheese tart recipe is meant to be eaten warm, but it's delicious at room temperature, too.

Serve these mini tarts with a glass of chilled white wine for a wonderful appetizer, with fresh fruit salad for brunch, or paired with a green salad for a meal. This tart tastes so delicious you will want to make it again and again!

Just cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate any tarts you didn't eat. They will be wonderful the next day.

What other kinds of cheese could I use?

You could use cheddar cheese, goat cheese, brie cheese, or even a cheese combination. I might use a cheese mixture of Gouda and cheddar.

What else could I use for a topping?

You could also sprinkle the tarts with a little sea salt and fresh black pepper as it also pairs well with figs. Bacon would be a nice addition, as well. I might try a little lemon zest next time, too.

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• Pear Martini Recipe

Recipe

I participated in Mom Blog Tour at the Summer Fancy Food Show on behalf of Wendy's Bloggers and received Wisconsin Cheese products to facilitate my review.