Some Cakes are Figgier than Others, Part Two

Figs!  Yes, they are creepy; yes, they are delicious.

Since a fig is not exactly a fruit, it tastes not exactly like a fruit.  Fruit flavors certainly cover a wide spectrum, but they usually contain sweet flavors and some type of acidic flavor (some stronger than others).  Figs are one of those flavors that is hard to pin down.  They're sweet, but not too sweet.  They've got no hint of acidic tartness.  The flavor is very... floral.  Fitting, no?

Now of course there are different varieties of figs to be eaten.  The ones we are probably most familiar with are the black mission figs.  Mission figs are probably the sweetest figs out there, in an almost too much kind of way.  Their texture is not my favorite; sort of syrupy and mushy and gyuh gyuh gyuh as you try to swallow.   Then there are the other dark figs, brown turkish figs.  These guys are sweet like the black missions, but not so cloying, and the texture is a little bit more substantial.

Then there are a few green figs.  Even though their skin is green, their insides are still rosy red, which makes a great color contrast.  My favorite light skinned figs are kadotas. These are a delight; they taste like honey itself, and when straight off the tree are filled with a refreshing nectar.  Yumm!

Let's talk recipes. I really wanted to find a great baking recipe that utilized fresh figs, but those are hard to come by.  Most fig breads or cakes call for chopped dried figs, used like raisins.  This is great and all, but I want a fresh fig recipe!  Three cliche fresh fig recipes sprang to mind: grilled figs, grilled figs wrapped in prosciutto, and figs simmered in port (and then possibly grilled and wrapped in prosciutto).  Lame.  These are overdone, people.  Come up with something new.

That's exactly what I did!  I made up a recipe.  This particular recipe may not be super original, but i didn't get it from anywhere, so it's original for me.

I give you: honey lemon fig cake!

It utilizes fresh fig puree as a main ingredient (similar to how banana bread uses banana puree).  It's also got honey, which complements the flavor of figs, and lemon juice / zest, which offset the sweetness.  I'm also throwing in some yogurt, for flavor and softness in the cake.  Also, the combo of honey, lemon, figs, and yogurt sounded exotic to me.  A bit mediterranean maybe?  I don't know, but I like to think of this cake as paying tribute to the figs of yesteryear.

Speaking of paying tribute to things, this recipe pays tribute to the Summer with those flavors, and adds a hit of nutmeg to ring in the fall.  Perfect, because today is the first day of Fall!

Wait, are figs still in season?  Some of them, yes.  Kadota figs are a late season fig, beginning in mid August or so and lasting until mid October, if you're lucky.  I was still able to find some mission (left) and turkey figs (right), too, so they're still around.  Just as figs overlap the seasons, this cake recipe does the same thing!

I used these figs for the puree.  The kadota figs featured in the previous post were all eaten fresh :D

The Recipe:

Liquids:
Honey -- 4oz
Yogurt -- 8 oz (I used full fat, but not the Greek kind.  You want more liquid than that will offer.)
Veg Oil -- 4 oz
Eggs -- 2 ea
Vanilla Extract -- a little bit
Zest of two lemons
Juice of one lemon
Pureed Figs -- 12 oz  (Just take the stems off, dump the whole figs in a food processor, and let 'er go)

Fig Puree!  Everyone needs a Cuisinart.

Lemon zest!  Everyone needs a Microplane.


Dries:
AP Flour -- 12 oz (really, pastry or even cake flour might be better.  I only had AP.  Cakes came out more like muffins.)
Baking Powder -- 1.25 tsp
Baking Soda -- .25 tsp
Salt -- 1 tsp
Nutmeg -- .5 tsp


Procedure:  Super simple.  Ready?  Whisk all your liquids together, ending with the fig puree.  Sift or whisk all your dries together.  Fold dry into liquid.  Portion out, I used a Wilton mini-bundt pan with enough left over for a thin 6" layer.  Bake at 350f for 18ish minutes.



Done!  I also made a glaze with lemon juice and powdered sugar, but I forgot to take picture until the day after they were fresh, so the glaze just got absorbed into the cake  :[

Conculsions:  They're pretty good, but I may have discovered why dried figs are usually used in baking: the delicate flavor of fresh figs is easily lost during the baking process.  The flavor is still there, but more as a backdrop.  If anything, the rosy fig color is more apparent than the flavor.

This recipe could use some tweaking, I'm aware of that.  But figs are expensive, and I won't be able to make it again until next fig season rolls around.  But you can bet I will :]