This tart has the soul of a cheesecake without the heaviness. It’s lightly sweet as is, but can be made into an almost savory dessert by swapping out ¼ of the mascarpone cheese for goat cheese and use ground pine nuts instead of almonds in the crust. 

Crust:
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
½ cup almond flour (or other nut flour)
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling:
16 ounces mascarpone
⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 pound figs, quartered

Honey, for drizzling

• Preheat the oven to 350° and have a tart pan ready (I used a rectangular one, but a round one would work as well). 
• Combine the flour, almond flour, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and mix. Press the crust into the bottom and sides of your tart pan.
• Using the same bowl, combine the mascarpone cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, followed by the cornstarch, vanilla and salt. 
• Pour the filling into the crust. From here, you can either bake your figs into the filling by quartering them and placing them on top. Or you can bake the tart and place them on top when served. Both ways are delicious, it just depends on if you like your figs fresh or baked. If baked, they will sink into the filling slightly. If you place fresh on top it will have a lovely crown of figs.
• Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Allow to chill a minimum of four hours before serving. Drizzle the top with honey.