Quick and Easy Fig Preserves

 

I absolutely love fig jam and preserves served with cheese, so delicious.   So when I picked a few more figs this morning this was the first thing I wanted to make.  Not sure if this technically classifies as jam or preserves because there is no pectin in this recipe but it's sweet and thick and perfect to spread on toast so in my book it's close enough :)  It definitely won't have the shelf life of the preserves that you buy in the store so make it just a day or so ahead of the time you want to use it.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup fresh figs, diced

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

 

Preparation:

 

In a small saucepan combine all ingredients.  Cook over medium heat until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Use an immersion blender directly in hot pan to puree the fig mixture into a smoother (but not completely smooth) consistency.  Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate until completely cool. 

Fig Banana Bread

 

I was so excited to discover a gorgeous fig tree in my backyard this year that I didn't even know I had.  A friend of mine pointed it out to me one day at the end of the summer and to my surprise at closer inspection the tree was covered with about a hundred figs which in a few weeks would be ready to pick.  Ever since that moment I have been slightly obsessed with this tree and going out daily to inspect it and impatiently waiting for one of those hard little green figs to ripen to a big, juicy purple fruit.  Well the other day I was so thrilled to find about a dozen beautiful ripe figs ready to be picked.   So now over the next few weeks I will be testing as many fig recipes as I can find!!  The first of which is this delicious super moist Fig Banana Bread!! YUM YUM YUM!

My fig tree!

 

Figs before they start to ripen

 

Figs starting to ripen

 

 

Nice ripe figs ready to be picked!!

 

Perfect

 

The most deliciously moist Fig Banana Bread straight from the oven.....it smells amazing!

 

Ingredients:

 

4 small very ripe bananas

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 ripe figs, quartered

6 ripe figs, diced

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups all purpose flour (or 1 cup white flour 1 cup whole wheat flour)

 

Preparation:

 

In a large bowl beat together coconut oil, brown sugar, bananas and vanilla until combined well.  Add to the mixture 6 figs which have been quartered and beat into the mixture until they are broken down and part of the batter.  Next, beat in eggs until combined.  Sprinkle in baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix.  Add flour one cup at a time until batter is smooth.  Lastly to add more fig flavor and texture mix in the final 6 figs that you have diced.  Mix these in with a spoon to avoid breaking them up completely.  Pour batter into a loaf pan that has been greased with non-stick cooking spray ( I use coconut oil spray).  Bake at 350 degrees F until bread is set in the middle, about 50 minutes.  Allow to cool before slicing.

 

 

 

 

Fig Almond Breakfast Bread

This bread is yummy. It is a nice departure from sweet quick breads. It is still a quick bread but it tastes more like a dense health bread. It isn't very sweet at all. It has a sweet struessel topping and figs inside but those are the only sweet elements in this recipe. This bread would be great for breakfast, brunch or a snack with jam or cream cheese spread on top. It is a must try.

Ingredients:

Bread:
1 C dried figs
1/2 C boiling water
1 T.flour
1 1/2 C white flour
1/2 whole wheat flour
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
3/4 C applesauce
1/3 C plain non-fat yogurt
1/4 C canola oil
1/2 tsp. almond extract
3/4 C granulated sugar
1/3 C chopped almonds
1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Streussel:

2 1/2 T brown sugar
2 T. flour
1 1/2 T. coarsely chopped almonds
1 T chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/8 tsp. cinnamon

Preparation:

To prepare streussel, combine the streussel ingredients in a small bowl stirring with a fork until crumbly; set aside.

To prepare bread, combine figs and 1/2 cup of boiling water in a small bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon of flour.

Place egg whites and egg in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add applesauce, yogurt, oil, and almond extract; stir well. Add sugar; stir well.

Combine flours and remaining ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drain figs, and coarsely chop. Add figs and applesauce mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Pour batter into pan. Sprinkle streussel over batter. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.