Good morning! I finally made this cake as written and it's soooo good. Just the kind of cake I like...not overly sweet with interesting flavor. The 5 Spice is a nice addition. THANK YOU! I'm adding this to my Fall rotation.
Lovely cake - the first thing I've baked in our new oven here in the Loire Valley. I made recipe as written, but didn't have enough "poudre d'Amandes" so augmented with buckwheat flour. I was dying to try a small springform pan from Aldi, smaller than a tart pan - hence a more domed cake appearance, and made two large muffins (couldn't find cupcake papers). I gave the cake to friends who had guests visiting from Maine, and it was a hit all-around. I enjoyed the two large cupcakes myself. Great balance of figs to not-too-sweet cake. Thanks too for the fig-freezing tips! I took photos but can't attach here!
I made the fig-yogurt cake with olive oil and the method modifications in my previous comment, and it came out great--a wonderful moist fall cake! (I'm sure the original is just as delicious, but I'm trying to cut down on butter.) I also used anise seed instead of five-spice, as the recipe suggested, and it went really well with the figs.
This sounds wonderful, and figs are in all the farmers market in SF right now. I'm wondering about adapting the recipe to use olive oil instead of butter--beating the eggs with the sugar, adding the yogurt and drizzling in the olive oil, then whisking in the dry ingredients. Do you think that would work and if so, should I sub olive oil for butter 1:1? The branches of my neighbor's fig tree droop into my yard so maybe I'll steal a few leaves to line the cake tin ;)
You can sometimes recipe butter in a recipe with oil but butter is about 80% fat (20% water) whereas oil is 100% fat, so sometime you need to toggle the other ingredients, to get it right. A general rule is use about 3/4s or 80% by volume of oil for the quantity of butter called for in a recipe. There are some discussions about it here:
Thanks, very helpful. I did the recipe with a 1:1 oil:butter substitution and it came out great, but I’m going to make the cake again with poached pears so I’ll try it this time with less oil per your comment. (I whisked the eggs and sugar until light, whisked in the yogurt and then threaded in the olive oil, finally added the dry ingredients with the Kitchenaid paddle.) What a fabulous and versatile cake!
Wait, there's frozen Rhubarb at Picard?! I wonder if I can buy this next time I'm in Paris and take it on the plane. lol. Probably not. I enjoy your puns.
I've never tried them but a friend buys them at Picard in Paris. She says she makes guacamole with them by squishing the bag until they're mushy, then add the other ingredients ; )
Picard for me is heaven, David, because I adore artichokes and their tiny ones are wonderful sautéed in olive oil and garlic and a little butter and lemon juice mixed in at the end or then whipped up in the food processor with broth, the siero from a mozzarella, more garlic and mint to make a pasta sauce that drives me wild. Their fruit is wonderful, as you say, when no fruit can be found, especially the mangoes and berries. And so many bio vegetables! It's like having a sous chef....but of course, in our little village the farmer's bring great stuff from the trees and fields. GREAT figgy tart. Freeze them for plum pudding. Who needs plums..?
So timely! I was scrolling the internet last night looking for ideas for my HUGE fig harvest! So far today, I've made your roasted figs, I'm freezing figs and I'm going to make this cake a little later in the week. I wish my figs were that beautiful rosy color as the ones in your photos...mine are Brown Turkey figs which are a pale pink inside but still incredibly tasty! I'm excited to try this recipe. I love the taste and smell of 5 Spice! It would make a great scented candle!!!
Those figs from Provence, well...I've never had anything like them. (The people who owned the fig tree were just letting them rot on the ground, or throwing them into the woods because they were attracting yellow jackets...) Fortunately I brought a lot home and look forward to using them all winter. I did make a dozen jars of jam, too! : )
When I wrote my ice cream book, people started asking me, "How long does ice cream last in the freezer?" which I never (ever) considered. Ice cream around here never lasts that long ; )
Bonjour David, This sounds wonderful! As an aside, since you mentioned Picard, one of my favourite things they sell are the beignets fleurs de courgettes. They only appear when they feature Italian foods. I could make them myself, but theirs are easier and less mess.
Haha you're forgiven for the fig puns but "fig-uritively" speaking, I hope you didn't have to "reconfigure" your freezer to accommodate all the fruit! You're a "figurehead" to many of us but I'm hoping you don't cook the figs while in your "jammies" or while "jamming" to some tunes. 🤣♥️
Good morning! I finally made this cake as written and it's soooo good. Just the kind of cake I like...not overly sweet with interesting flavor. The 5 Spice is a nice addition. THANK YOU! I'm adding this to my Fall rotation.
Lovely cake - the first thing I've baked in our new oven here in the Loire Valley. I made recipe as written, but didn't have enough "poudre d'Amandes" so augmented with buckwheat flour. I was dying to try a small springform pan from Aldi, smaller than a tart pan - hence a more domed cake appearance, and made two large muffins (couldn't find cupcake papers). I gave the cake to friends who had guests visiting from Maine, and it was a hit all-around. I enjoyed the two large cupcakes myself. Great balance of figs to not-too-sweet cake. Thanks too for the fig-freezing tips! I took photos but can't attach here!
I made the fig-yogurt cake with olive oil and the method modifications in my previous comment, and it came out great--a wonderful moist fall cake! (I'm sure the original is just as delicious, but I'm trying to cut down on butter.) I also used anise seed instead of five-spice, as the recipe suggested, and it went really well with the figs.
This sounds wonderful, and figs are in all the farmers market in SF right now. I'm wondering about adapting the recipe to use olive oil instead of butter--beating the eggs with the sugar, adding the yogurt and drizzling in the olive oil, then whisking in the dry ingredients. Do you think that would work and if so, should I sub olive oil for butter 1:1? The branches of my neighbor's fig tree droop into my yard so maybe I'll steal a few leaves to line the cake tin ;)
You can sometimes recipe butter in a recipe with oil but butter is about 80% fat (20% water) whereas oil is 100% fat, so sometime you need to toggle the other ingredients, to get it right. A general rule is use about 3/4s or 80% by volume of oil for the quantity of butter called for in a recipe. There are some discussions about it here:
https://www.nigella.com/ask/oil-instead-of-butter-for-baking
and
https://www.californiaoliveranch.com/articles/recipe-makeover-how-to-substitute-olive-oil-for-butter-in-baking
Thanks, very helpful. I did the recipe with a 1:1 oil:butter substitution and it came out great, but I’m going to make the cake again with poached pears so I’ll try it this time with less oil per your comment. (I whisked the eggs and sugar until light, whisked in the yogurt and then threaded in the olive oil, finally added the dry ingredients with the Kitchenaid paddle.) What a fabulous and versatile cake!
I'm glad you brought this up, I like baking with olive oil too.
Wait, there's frozen Rhubarb at Picard?! I wonder if I can buy this next time I'm in Paris and take it on the plane. lol. Probably not. I enjoy your puns.
The new revised book is simply gorgeous. Carol-Ann. Texas
glad you like it!!
It looks so good 🤗
Is it just me or do avocados that have been frozen taste a little fizzy?
I've never tried them but a friend buys them at Picard in Paris. She says she makes guacamole with them by squishing the bag until they're mushy, then add the other ingredients ; )
Picard for me is heaven, David, because I adore artichokes and their tiny ones are wonderful sautéed in olive oil and garlic and a little butter and lemon juice mixed in at the end or then whipped up in the food processor with broth, the siero from a mozzarella, more garlic and mint to make a pasta sauce that drives me wild. Their fruit is wonderful, as you say, when no fruit can be found, especially the mangoes and berries. And so many bio vegetables! It's like having a sous chef....but of course, in our little village the farmer's bring great stuff from the trees and fields. GREAT figgy tart. Freeze them for plum pudding. Who needs plums..?
That pasta sauce! Luckily you can’t see me drooling.
Oh, there are more....on substaack also in Crazy in the Kitchen We drool a lot reading David's blogs!
So timely! I was scrolling the internet last night looking for ideas for my HUGE fig harvest! So far today, I've made your roasted figs, I'm freezing figs and I'm going to make this cake a little later in the week. I wish my figs were that beautiful rosy color as the ones in your photos...mine are Brown Turkey figs which are a pale pink inside but still incredibly tasty! I'm excited to try this recipe. I love the taste and smell of 5 Spice! It would make a great scented candle!!!
Those figs from Provence, well...I've never had anything like them. (The people who owned the fig tree were just letting them rot on the ground, or throwing them into the woods because they were attracting yellow jackets...) Fortunately I brought a lot home and look forward to using them all winter. I did make a dozen jars of jam, too! : )
Love free fruit!
It's hard to believe people throw stuff away or let it rot on the ground. But it is a lot to do, to use up all that fruit!
I love figs, would definitely eat this!
"They last as long as they taste good.” Words to live by for so many things. Just use your judgement and don't stress about the rules. And eat cake!
When I wrote my ice cream book, people started asking me, "How long does ice cream last in the freezer?" which I never (ever) considered. Ice cream around here never lasts that long ; )
Right now we are enjoying a similar cake This time each year NYTimes reprints Marian
Burros Plum Cake for Italian Prune plums. Freezing some Quetsch the same way so we can enjoy it again later.
Thanks for mentioning this! Now I now what to make with my plums!
The almond flour and the spices in this one are really nice, which aren't in that cake - so give this one a try!
Bonjour David, This sounds wonderful! As an aside, since you mentioned Picard, one of my favourite things they sell are the beignets fleurs de courgettes. They only appear when they feature Italian foods. I could make them myself, but theirs are easier and less mess.
Haha you're forgiven for the fig puns but "fig-uritively" speaking, I hope you didn't have to "reconfigure" your freezer to accommodate all the fruit! You're a "figurehead" to many of us but I'm hoping you don't cook the figs while in your "jammies" or while "jamming" to some tunes. 🤣♥️
yes there are a lot of fig puns out there - thanks for teaching me some new ones that I never would have figured out : )
🤣🤣👍🏻