Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Figs and Caramel Loaf

Fig and Caramel loaf6

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 :)

Fig and Caramel loaf

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

Fig and Caramel loaf5

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.

Fig and Caramel loaf3

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 :)

Fig and Caramel loaf1

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.

Fig and Caramel loaf4

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.

Fig and Caramel loaf2

Written by: Nithya
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36 comments:

Sudha Sabarish said...

Wow that is too good.Never heared a cake in dried figs.Great work.Send a piece of cake to me na hehehehe.

Radhika said...

Figs are filled with so much goodness. making a loaf of it is truly wonderful idea. Clicks are great Nithya.

chef and her kitchen said...

cake came out superb,moist n yummy..I love figs very much..loving ur clicks very much..:)

Saraswathi Iyer said...

Looks delicious and soft.

Sushma said...

thats good combo...

sanjeeta kk said...

Beautiful texture and the cake looks soft and delicious!

Lite Bite

Unknown said...

love the slices..last time, I got a packet of dried figs from India too ..I made a eggless version..do check when you find time..

http://www.creativesaga.com/2011/03/eggless-dried-figs-cake.html

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Wonderful recipe....cake looks so soft and delicious.

Unknown said...

Figs and caramel what a combination...delicious looking cake...very tempting clicks too

Plusthirtee said...

Nithya...yummy ...i wanna have it rightaway :)
Yum Yum Yum....Lovely Clicks :)

My Kitchen Antics said...

that sounds like a brilliant idea

Raks said...

Both are my favorites,caramel flavour and fig fruit! Loved ur cake to the core! Wish I can have some :)

Raksha said...

the cake looks super soft n well baked

lata raja said...

nice loaf cakes Nits...having enjoyed reading yours i am heading to Sowmya's eggless version:)

Vimitha Durai said...

Looks super moist and so yummy... Lovely caramelized flavor would have been yum... Lovely pics...

Archana said...

Just two words "delicious, healthy"!

Suja Manoj said...

Looks superb,soft and delicious..

soujanya said...

cake is looking soo cute...and ofcourse yummy...too...
very interesting..feel like trying it soon....
thanks for sharing..

Priya Suresh said...

Cake looks damn pretty spongy and incredible,lovely loaf..

Reshmi Mahesh said...

Soft cake with a wonderful combo...awesome clicks and presentation...

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

what a delightful combo....excuisite photography!

Swathi said...

Delicious fig loaf, looks like caramel go well with fig.

Srivalli said...

Awesome pictures as always Nithi..love those crumbly cake..:)..since you are in baking spree, pls bake an eggless for me and bring..hahh..:)

Divya Kudua said...

Love it that you've baked it in the disposable aluminium pans.have always wondered how it will turn out.This sounds perfect as a gift no,*hint hint*,ha,just kidding.The loaf looks pretty with those crunchy figs..yum!

Lena Jayadev said...

Nithyaaa... this looks really great.. im getting aroma here.. snap is too tempting :)

Anonymous said...

Woww.. the loaf looks so soft and fluffy.. cant wait to have one slice :D Yummm

Prema said...

Wow that a yummy combo,loaf luks so perfect...Cute clicks.

Bharathy said...

Summah...engeyo poitteenga!! :)

Rinku Naveen said...

Figs are my fav. A cake with figs..would love to taste it Niths. What a coincidence that u too baked a pound cake. Baked it sometime back but was waiting for the Sweet Punch reveal date.
Loved the texture of your cake. And I just don't get tired commenting on your marvelous snaps!!!! :) Too good.

Miriam Korula said...

figs n' caramel sounds like a wonderful combination....totally love the snaps....:)

Unknown said...

wow, that looks mouth watering, amazing and all of those nice adjectives :)

M D said...

Wow! that looks mouthwatering and the clicks are beautiful! Love every pic of urs. You have an artistic way of clicking pics which I admire.

Unknown said...

Great post!! I have never tried figs in loaf; now I am curious!

Nithya said...

Thanks all :)

@Urmila - Dear, kindly go through http://www.4thsensecooking.com/2010/10/eggless-vanilla-tutti-frutti-choco-chip.html

This recipe is a basic eggless vanilla cake with chocolate chips. Just drop the chocolate chips and add caramel and figs to it to make an eggless version :)

shriannalakshmi said...

Wonderful!!!Nithya, cake looks softy, softy. Can we use those aluminium trays in microwave to bake cakes?

Parita said...

This is a must try for me!

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