Fig Upside Down Cupcakes

234. Lovely Figs! So many lovely figs!

Hand picked and just waiting to be used.

Fig Upside Down Cupcakes

1 3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup almond meal (almonds ground to grainy consistency)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

6 to 8 figs diced

brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line paper baking cups in cupcake pans. Yields approximately 24 cupcakes.

In a large bowl mix together milk, sugar, oil, extracts and egg till blended. Add flour, almond meal, baking powder and baking soda, spices and salt. Mix until smooth.

Chop figs and cover the bottom of each paper liner with fig cubes.

Spoon 1 teaspoon of brown sugar over figs.

Then pour batter over filling 2/3 full.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool.

Buttercream Spice Frosting

1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature

5 cups confectioners sugar

2 Tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 - 3 Tablespoons milk or as needed for right consistency

Cream all ingredients together in a mixer and whip until smooth and sugar has incorporated. Adjust milk or confectioners sugar to desired consistency.

Pipe frostin onto cooled cupcakes and decorate as desired.

Fabulous Fig Upside Down Cupcakes!!!

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fresh Figs, part 3

108. Fresh Figs are a delight to cook with! After receiving a lovely container of fresh green and brown figs from a dear friend, I have come to enjoy the complexity and adaptability of this plump little fruit. The fig is compatible with both savory and sweet.

This recipe is a blending of both savory and sweet...leaning towards savory.

It is a Fig and Onion Bruschetta which I found on Epicurious from Bon Appetit magazine January 2009. I used fresh figs so I did not need to reconstitute the fruit and thus eliminated the 1 cup water. Replacing the wine, I used grape juice. In so doing, the taste was sweeter than expected. Note to Self: When using fruit juice, eliminate sugar and adjust the vinegar adding more than the recipe calls for. It was delicious! And yes...the moans of "Yum" at the table were very rewarding!

Fig and Onion BruschettaBon Appétit | January 2009

by Andrew Carmellini

Yield: Makes 8 Figs: 1/2 cup dried black Mission figs, stemmed, halved 1 cup boiling water 3/4 cup dry red wine (or substitute with grape juice, my addition) 2 tablespoons sugar (eliminate sugar if using fruit juice or add till taste acquired, my addition) 1 small bay leaf 1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar (or white balsamic, my addition) Onion: 1 1/2 teaspoons butter 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium red onion, halved through core, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick strips 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon sugar Coarse kosher salt Ricotta: 1 cup fresh ricotta cheese 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling 1 teaspoon heavy whipping cream (or milk, my addition) Coarse kosher salt 8 1-inch-thick slices ciabatta bread (about 4 1/2 x 2 inches) (or baguette loaf, my addition) 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano For figs: Place figs in small bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over; let soak 45 minutes. Drain figs; place in small saucepan. Add wine and next 3 ingredients; bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until figs are tender and liquid is syrupy, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Add vinegar; cook 1 minute longer. Remove pan from heat; cool. For onion: Melt butter with oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until beginning to soften and brown, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low; add vinegar and sugar, then sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Stir until vinegar has almost evaporated, about 1 minute. Cool. DO AHEAD: Figs and onion mixture can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. For ricotta: Whisk ricotta, 1 tablespoon oil, and cream in medium bowl until fluffy. Season with coarse salt and pepper. Preheat broiler. Drizzle ciabatta with some olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Broil bread on both sides until toasted. Transfer to serving plate. Spread 2 tablespoons ricotta mixture on each bread slice. Spoon glazed figs with some of syrup over; top with onion mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan and oregano. Drizzle with oil and serve immediately.

Make sure that you cook the figs till they have a thick consistency. If you don't, this will be a very runny, messy appetizer. Cooling the mixture helps with the thickness as well

The ciabatta bread was delicious, crispy and complimented the topping...but the size of each slice was much to large. I will make this with small baguette slices next time.

The presentation was beautiful!!!

I am sure you could use another fruit as well to substitute if you don't have figs in season or on hand. Plums or apricots would be fantastic!

"In spite of food fads,

fitness programs, and health concerns,

we must never lose sight of a beautifully conceived meal."

~ Julia Childs

Fresh Figs, part 2

107. Fresh figs are a new find for me! They came to me as a gift from a dear sweet little Italian friend.

While searching Epicurious and the Food Network, I came across an awesome recipe for an Almond Fig Tart from Giada De Laurentiis' recipes. Later in the day, when talking with my sister, she found the same recipe! I knew this was the one to make!

Fig and Almond Tart

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis, 2008

Prep Time:

10 min

Inactive Prep Time:

1 hr 10 min

Cook Time:

40 min

Level:

--

Serves:

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons ice water
• 3 1/2 ounces almond paste, at room temperature, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 6 large or 12 small fresh figs, sliced, stems removed or 20 dried figs, reconstitute dried figs, simmer in water for 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool completely. Strain before using.
• 1/4 cup apricot jam

Directions

Combine the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, lemon zest, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until blended. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With the machine running, gradually add the water until moist clumps form. Turn the mixture out onto a work surface and form into a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough for 1 hour.

In a clean food processor bowl, combine remaining sugar, almond paste, mascarpone cheese, vanilla extract, and honey. Blend until smooth.

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

On a large sheet of parchment paper, roll out the dough into an 11-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a large, heavy baking sheet. Spread the almond filling over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border.

Arrange the figs on top of the almond filling. Spoon the jam over the figs. Fold the dough border over the filling to form an 8-inch round, pleating the crust loosely and pinching to seal any cracks in the dough.

Bake the tart until the crust is golden, about 40 minutes.

Place the baking sheet on a rack to cool for 10 minutes, then slide a metal spatula under the crust to free the tart from the parchment. Transfer the tart to a platter and serve.

This recipe was so very delicious...a must to try and so very easy. The only note I would make to self is to roll the dough out to a 12" round and to condense the mound of filling and fruit to the very center. It did seep slightly, as any fruit pie would do, but the finished product was delicious and beautiful! (Can you see my beautiful Polish table cloth in the background?)

"Seize the moment.

Remember all those women on the Titanic

who waved off the dessert cart."

~Erma Bombeck

Fresh Figs, part 1

106. A sweet little Italian friend brought a small container to me the other day. It was closed and wrapped up tight with paper towels wrapped tightly around it. She told me that this is something for our family from her tree in the back yard. Curiously, I asked her what it was...she responded, "Figs!" "Do you like figs?" To be honest...I have never had a fresh fig...where have I been?

I was so happy to receive this gift and promised her we would enjoy them and use them. Many times I have had dried figs, figs with almonds rolled in coconut and Fig Newtons! But never the fresh figs. There were large green figs and smaller brown figs both with glistening red centers. The small brown figs had a sweeter taste to them.

I began to search for recipes on line and in my cookbooks. One recipe was for Fresh Fig Muffins from Mele Cotte's wonderful Blog. These sounded delicious and easy, so I copied the recipe but made a few changes adding fresh grated nutmeg to the batter, eliminating the raisins, grinding the almonds to sprinkle on top and adding a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar to the top of each muffin. They were delightful!

The figs were ripe but were easy to dice.

And the recipe only called for 1 cup.

I served them with honey, jam and butter. They tasted like a dessert more than a muffin...and you could feel the little fig seeds crunching between your teeth. This recipe could adapt to any fruit: apple, plum, banana, peach...etc.

I only used 1 cup of figs...let's see tomorrow what I can make with the rest.

"Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig.

If you tell me that you desire a fig. I answer you that there must be time.

Let it first blossom, then bear fruit then ripen."

~Epictetus