Unbake My Tart: A Cheese & Fig Tart!

When the weather gets too hot to even bear turning the oven on but you have guests coming (or you just want to eat something tasty) then may I humbly suggest having this recipe up your sleeve? Juicy summer figs, grapes and blackberries top a whipped cheese tart with an almond spiced biscuit base. And no ovens were turned on to make this lovely cheese platter tart.

It was a 34C/93.2F day when I made this and I was in no mood to turn on the oven. The filling is easy-whipping cheese is a cinch in a processor and decorating it with cut figs even easier but I wondered about the tart base. Do you always have to bake cheesecake crusts?

Well it turns out that you can make a great base without rebaking it. It's crumbly and spicy and gorgeous with the cheeses and fruit. I called this the cheese platter tart because it has all the flavours of a cheese platter. I'm also thinking muscatels on the vine might be a good idea for my next one. And you can use whichever cheeses you fancy.

There are certain things along with turning on the oven that I refuse to do on a really hot day. Nina and I postpone our training sessions because neither of us want to swelter in the heat. But I do owe her a prank.

Do you remember the last time I left a photo of myself in her apartment? It was my favourite photo called b&*(hface. I left it in her bedroom when we went over for dinner and it wasn't long before she found it.

After training we do stretches and it was while I was flat on my stomach being stretched that she slipped a photo frame in my bag. It was her retaliation for my b&(^hface photo. It wasn't until that evening when I reached into my bag for something that I saw it. She has put her head on a doctor's body and well it was super weird and funny. I couldn't stop laughing. Mochi however was a bit more confused and didn't quite see the humour.

Now it's my turn for revenge! But first I need the temperature to be cooler. Because you can't prank in hot weather...

So tell me Dear Reader, can you think of a good retaliatory prank for me to do on Nina? Are you best in hot or cold weather? And do you avoid turning on the oven when it is really hot?

Fig Whipped Cheese No Bake Tart

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 15 minutes plus 90 minutes fridge time

Cooking time: 0 minutes

• 200g/7ozs. almond speculoos cookies
• 100g/3.5ozs. butter, melted
• 200g/7ozs. feta
• 200g/7ozs. ricotta Cheese
• 75g/2.6ozs. blue cheese
• 2 fresh figs, sliced
• small handful blackberries
• small bunch grapes

Step 1 - Process the cookies until they are fine crumbs. Mix with the butter and press into a 34x12cm (13.6x4.8inch) baking tin with a removable base. Place in the fridge and allow to set.

Step 2 - Blend the three cheeses together until smooth and spoon into the tart and smooth over. Top with slices of fresh figs, berries and grapes. Allow to set in the fridge for 1 hour or more (you can make this a few hours ahead of time).