Light at the end of the tunnel and a simple cake

As my friend J aptly pointed out, this has been the longest break ever on my blog. I didn't realize that some of you still take a peep into this space from time to time to check on me! Truth is, the past month was nothing short of a roller coaster ride. From the despair of inevitable unemployment to the various empty promises, I was all ready to pack my stuffs and head back to Atlanta.

Who would have thought that the last interview I had in less than a week before my scheduled departure would land me a job on the very same day? It feels so surreal and call me superstitious, I try to keep it really quiet before I sign the contract. No job status updates on Facebook, because that has been "established" to jinx whatever good things coming my way.

The first thing I did after signing the contract, was to buy a plane ticket to Atlanta. A much needed break before the commencement of a new career; some quality time with OCT and baking in my long neglected kitchen are in order.

No fancy, multi steps recipes that take days to complete. I have set out to use the seasonal fruits to bake something for my friends and loved ones. This easy fig and blackberry coffee cake simply fit the bill!

I have combined some sierra figs that a friend passed us, together with some blackberries and peach in the batter. The inspiration comes from Zoe's cake, which is an adaption from Dorie Greenspan's blueberry crumb cake.

It's a lovely cake to be eaten with a scoop of ice cream or a cup of tea in the afternoon. I bake the cake as a gift for OCT's colleague and a smaller one to nibble in the afternoon.

Note that the cake rises significantly, so you don't want to fill the cake pan too full. If using a smaller pan or a taller pan, you can add some thinly sliced fruits in between the batter for extra moisture. Although it's not absolutely necessary, I find that resting the cake overnight allow the flavor and moisture to redistribute itself. The cake tastes much better the next day.

Ah, the joy of home baking and taking photos under natural light! Stay tuned for more recipes to come. :)

Fig, Blackberry and Peach Coffee Cake
adapted from here

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 freshly grated nutmeg
2/3 cup sugar
zest from half a lemon
3/4 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup plain yogurt
a couple of figs halved/quartered
a pint of blackberries
half a peach, sliced

Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly oil an 8-inch square pan.

Combine the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon and nutmeg, sift into a big bowl or onto a piece of parchment paper.

Beat the room temperature butter with sugar, vanilla extract and lemon zest until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time; make sure that the first one is well incorporated before adding the second. Scrape the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well mixed.

Add in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of the milk + yogurt mixture. Alternate the addition of dry and wet ingredients, mix until just combined. Overmix will lead to a tough cake.

Pour the thick batter into prepared pan and arrange fruits in a decorative pattern on top. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean in the center.

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Plum and Fig Kuchen

A punnet of figs proves to be plentiful if one doesn't eat them out of hand. After using some in the fig financiers, I am still left with half a punnet of figs! While I rummage the fridge for dinner ingredients that night, I am surprised to see a few plums hidden underneath the shanghai bokchoy! Perfect, now I can bake something with plums and figs. A google search returns with a recipe of plum and Fig Kuchen on Mary's blog- Alpineberry, which is a recipe from Flo Braker on SF Gate Food Section.

Wanted to save some bucks on electric bill, I bake this together with the fig financiers. The batter is made while the financier batter is resting. In my attempt to multi-task, I totally forget about the walnut, which is part of the kuchen ingredients. I don't realize it until I have arranged the plums and figs on top of the batter. Too late to add the 2/3 cup of chopped walnut, so I simply sprinkle some on the batter.

And then, in my hurry to usher everything into the oven, I skip the cinnamon and ground cloves topping in the original recipe. I wonder what all these mishaps will do to my final cake.

The answer, which is revealed 4 hours later, is the cake will still be delicious. But it will definitely benefit from the crunch of the walnut, and make it tastier; have I not forgotten to layer the chopped walnut between the batter and the fruit topping. A step that I should caution you not to forget/miss!

Insteads of using Italian prune plums as the original recipe suggested, I use the red plums I have on hand. Given the forgiving nature of the recipe, (after all the mistakes I have commited) I think one can easily substitute other kinds of nuts and fruit toppings to make the recipe your own!

Plum and Fig Kuchen
adapted from Flo Braker on SF Gate Food Section

Make the cake a few hours ahead or the night before so that the juice from the fruit have enough time to redistribute in the cake.

2 red plums, pitted and sliced
5 small Black Mission figs (about 5 ounces), stems snipped, and quartered
1 cup unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup chopped walnuts, about 3 ounces (which I forget to use)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, reserved to sprinkle on the fruits topping


Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9 x 2-inch round baking pan and insert a round of parchment paper in the bottom; set aside.

For the cake: Sift flour, baking powder and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper; set aside. In the bowl of a heavy duty (or use a hand-held) mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter at medium-low speed until creamy smooth, 30 to 45 seconds. Scrape butter down the sides into center of bowl. While beating on medium-low speed, pour in granulated sugar in a steady stream followed by brown sugar. Continue beating until well-incorporated and slightly fluffy. Beat in egg, then egg yolks and vanilla. On lowest speed, add flour mixture just until combined. Spread batter evenly in pan, and sprinkle walnuts evenly over batter. (note to self: remember this next time!)

Starting at the perimeter of the pan, arrange the plum wedges, flesh side up, one next to the other in circles around the tart. After using all the wedges of plums, continue the circular pattern where you left off with the fig wedges, repeat placing them flesh side up and fitting them close together. After completing the circles, if any wedges remain, if possible, snugly fit them in where you can.

Sprinkle the reserved 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar over the fruit.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes until the portion of cake nearest the sides of the pan is puffy and golden brown and the center is set. A good test to see if it needs to bake longer is to tap or move the pan gently. If the center appears liquid and soft, bake another 5 to 7 minutes. If it is firm and set, then remove it from the oven to a wire rack and set it aside to cool for about 1 hour.

To remove the cake from the pan, run a small flexible spatula slowly around the edge of the pan to release the cake. Cover the cake with a wire rack, invert the cake, lift the pan, then gently peel off and discard the paper liner. Place a serving plate on top of the cake and turn it right side up. Serve warm or at room temperature. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of any leftover portion of the cake and store at room temperature.

Serves 12

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Getting acquainted with fig : Fig Financiers

The first time I heard of figs was from the many fig recipes my favorite bloggers posted last year. Then I was persuaded to give figs a try. But it was too late! The fig season is fleeting, and if one fail to grab a punnet decisively,when figs are still abundant, they may be disappointed the following week. I am not sure about the rest of the country, at least, such was the case with the city I previously resided.

This year however, luck is on my side. While I was strolling down the aisle of Dekalb Farmer's Market in Atlanta last week, rolls after rolls of figs beckoned. I grabbed a punnet and asked myself - now what?

Nothing caught my eyes after spending a few hours researching on the internet. Actually, that's not entirely true. There's a fig and goat cheese tart that I wanted to eat. But the process was more involved than I'd like to commit. I could have go on and on researching until something appealing appears, but the punnet of the figs couldn't.

In the end, in a total anticlimax fashion, I decided to simply top some sliced figs on financiers. I wanted to try Dorie's recipe ever since I read it on Pim's blog. The recipe perfectly fit my lazy mood on that particular day. It doesn't require a mixer, which results in one less thing to clean up.

Insteads of using the traditional financier molds, I used my underutilized mini muffin pan. I think the mini cherry tea cakes turned out pretty adorable when I used it last time. My batch of fig financiers traspired to be slightly too sweet for my taste. I suspect it's mostly my fault. I misread the recipe and added the flour into the batter on the stove! My friend Grace made a batch of financiers for our gathering, using the same recipe with delicious outcome. I need to make the recipe again, perhaps with other seasonal fruits to confirm if that misstep is indeed the culprit.

The remaining figs were being transformed into a cake, which I will tell you about in the next post. Fresh figs are sweet and soft that many covet. This I have just ascertained by the reactions from OCT's colleagues upon seeing the fig desserts. But in all honesty, it is not a fruit I will crave. Perhaps, it's an acquired taste. I grow up eating durian, and that's something I will yearn in the middle of the night.

Do you like figs? Do you have a favorite recipe with figs? I am all ears.

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