Figs and Caramel Loaf

I have been on a baking spree lately and enjoying a lot of experiments too :) One such super successful experiment that I did yesterday was to bake a cake with dried figs :)

My cousin gave a surprise visit day before and brought me a pack of dried figs from his place. Oh wow! I like them so much and just realized my taste for it :) Bling!! the next thought was to bake something using it and after a brief session of mind cooking, I came up with my own combination of a recipe :)

The cake has a mild flavor of caramel and is crunchy too. Crunchy??!! I know you guys would be wondering about it. Figs are packed with small crunchy seeds that give it a crackling texture once into the mouth :) hmmm slight similar to kiwi's texture. Ahhh now you should have got an idea of why the cake is crunchy right! ;)

Nothing is better than words of praise from parents and relatives isn't it?!! I loved all the compliments and the cake was worth to get them all for me :)

Dried figs(Atthi pazham) are easily available in India than fresh ones, so hope you guys give it a try too :)

Ingredients:

Dried figs - 15
All purpose flour(Maida) - 125 gms
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Butter - 100 gms
Powdered sugar - 100 gms
Eggs - 2
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Caramel - 2 tblsp

For Caramel -

Sugar - 2 tblsp
Water - 3 tblsp

Method:

Chop the figs into small pieces. Take them in a microwave safe bowl and add 1 tblsp of water to it. Microwave at high for exactly 1 min and keep it aside. This will make the fruit soft and perfect for the cake.

Sieve maida, baking powder and salt together and keep it aside.

For caramel:

Take a dry pan and add the sugar to it. Leave it untouched for few mins until it melts completely and starts to bubble. Simmer the stove and add the water to it and stir quickly. Allow it to cook in low flame until it becomes slightly thick.

Transfer it to another bowl immediately and allow it to cool before use. You can store this is refrigerator for a long time.

Take a beating bowl and chop in the butter into small chunks. Gradually add sugar to it and beat until light and fluffy. Now add one egg at a time and beat well. Once done, add the caramel and lemon juice to it and mix well. Now fold in the sieved flour mixture gently. Finally add the cooked figs to it and give one stir to spread it evenly.

Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Grease the mould with butter and dust with maida.

Fill the moulds with batter upto 3/4th and bake it for 20-25 mins at 180°C. Adjust the time according to your oven settings.

Check if cooked by inserting a skewer in the center. Once done, allow it to cool on a wire rack for a while.

Cut into slices and enjoy at tea time :)

Note:

Cooking the dry figs is an important step. Adding it directly might make the fruit harder and unpleasant to chew.

You can replace dried figs with fresh figs and skip the cooking part.

You can also use dates and nuts along with this. Follow the same cooking procedure for dates too.

Tips:

You can replace caramel with vanilla as a variation.

You can add spices like cinnamon and cardamom to this cake as well.

I used the disposable aluminium packaging bowls for baking my loafs this time :) This one is simple to use and does not need greasing and dusting too :) Various sizes and shapes are easily available too. Place them on a cookie tray and then place it on your grill.

Written by: Nithya

Send in your queries by clicking here.