TWD - A Fig Cake for Fall

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Hostess this week:  Ursula of The Cookie Rookie.  You can get the recipe at her webpage or in Dorie Greenspan's Baking with Dorie cookbook.
http://cookierookie-alvarosa.blogspot.com/    Also, check out our group TWD, to see what the other bakers did with this recipe.

I used to pick figs off my ex-mother-in-law's tree and eat them back in my 20's.  Loved them.  Other than that and fig newtons, I know nothing about figs.  It seemed lots of the group were having trouble finding fresh figs, but I went to Publix and they had them in their fruit section.  When I began to cut them in half, some were really mushy, while others were not.  So not being a fig "expert," I was not sure which ones were good to use.  I decided not to use the really mushy ones.

As a result, I did not have enough figs to cover the top of my cake. 

I did not have "port" as the recipe called for, and I hesitated to buy it because we would not drink the leftover, so I just used a rich red wine and added a little sugar, along with the honey.

The DH and I enjoyed a piece while we watched tv last night drizzled with the port/cabernet sauce.  I did not love the texture of this cake. The cornmeal in it made it more like cornbread to me and cornbread and sweet figs just did not seem to go together.  But it was interesting.   Check it out and try it for yourself.



Comments

Joanne said…
Oooh - that looks like a delicious cake.
I love your photo of the figs.
October 25, 2011 at 7:35 AM
Tia said…
it looks really really wonderful!
October 25, 2011 at 9:09 AM
Nicole said…
Your cake looks great! My husband loves port so we had a lot of hand. Most of my figs were really mushy and I used them; they seemed to be ok. It was my first experience baking with figs.
October 25, 2011 at 9:24 AM
Unknown said…
the sauce has me in overdrive. Lovely.
October 25, 2011 at 10:40 AM
Rita said…
Figs have always been a mystery for me; they are usually kind of soft at the store and not too sure. The other day I wrapped them in proscutto and grilled them; fantastic.
Rita
October 25, 2011 at 11:57 AM
Flourchild said…
It looks sooo good! I left the cornmeal out and added Bobs 5 grain hot cereal( oatmeal) I don't care for the texture of cornmeal in my baked goods!
October 25, 2011 at 12:50 PM
Unknown said…
I love the idea of using red wine instead of port. My mom has fig trees next to her vineyards and I think it's a perfect combination. I didn't have figs so I skipped, but this will inspire me when late summer/fall rolls around again.
October 25, 2011 at 1:45 PM
Anonymous said…
Love the color!
October 25, 2011 at 3:20 PM
Chats the Comfy Cook said…
Peggy, this looks like a winner to me. The photo glorifies the cake.
October 25, 2011 at 5:12 PM
Katrina said…
Well, your pictures look great. This one will not be repeated by me, but I'm always happy to try all these Dorie recipes.
October 25, 2011 at 11:20 PM
Cakelaw said…
It looks delish Peggy - I am sure that the red wine poaching was equally as good as port.
October 26, 2011 at 3:04 AM
alvarosa said…
Thanks for baking with me this week, especially as this is not one of your favourites. Red wine for sure works perfect!
October 26, 2011 at 5:00 AM
margot said…
Your cake looks lovely! I didn't have the right kind of port either and used a hazelnut dessert wine (which I think is in the port family). I felt the same way about the cake part of it; the figs were delicious, though.
October 26, 2011 at 10:48 PM
Becky @ Project Domestication said…
I used pomegranate juice instead of port and found the sauce to be great!

I think this cake leans toward the savory/balanced side of dessert. I liked it but it's not my favorite.
October 27, 2011 at 12:49 PM
Jaime said…
lovely cake! you know, I only had fresh figs for the first time about a month ago! they are so good :)
October 31, 2011 at 6:51 PM
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