Danielle came to Australia from America in 2016 with a degree in art history and stints at California's legendary French Laundry and Chez Panisse restaurants under her belt. She added another notch to that list of accomplishments when she headed up the kitchen at Sydney's Fred's restaurant, which quickly became a beacon on the city's foodie map. Along the way, she met Libby Travers, probably this country's most reliable and credible food writer and commentator. Libby has an honours degree in history with a thesis on rationing in France and England during WWII, so it seems inevitable that this pair should become collaborators and firm friends. Danielle stepped away from Fred's in 2022, which gave her and Libby the time to work on this book, which is firmly grounded in her home kitchen and is the result of their collective passion for good food and good times.
FIG AND HAZELNUT FRANGIPANE TART
We really amp up the hazelnut flavour by first making a hazelnut praline, which is used to make a traditional frangipane. The combination of figs with hazelnuts in a crisp, sweet tart shell is pure bliss — the smells coming out of your kitchen will leave you intoxicated.
MAKES: 1 TART, THE LARGER ENOUGH FOR 12–16 SLICES, OR THE SMALLER ENOUGH FOR 8–10 SLICES; TOTAL TIME: 3 HOURS 30 MINUTES; KITCHENALIA: 30CM FLUTED TART TIN WITH REMOVABLE BASE (SEE NOTE), STAND MIXER FITTED WITH THE PADDLE ATTACHMENT, FOOD PROCESSOR
1 baked sweet tart shell (recipe follows)
11–12 ripe figs, cut in half
1 tablespoon white (granulated) sugar
HAZELNUT FRANGIPANE
140g hazelnuts
80g soft brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
130g unsalted butter, at room temperature
80g white (granulated) sugar
Pinch of fine sea salt
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
80g plain flour
TO SERVE
Crème fraîche
Before you begin: You'll need to prepare a sweet tart shell (see following recipe). The frangipane can be made a day or two in advance and kept in the fridge, but it will need to come out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before using, so you can easily spread it into the tart shell. The baked tart is best eaten on the day it's made.
Prepare your sweet tart shell and allow it to cool. For the hazelnut frangipane, preheat oven
