The fig tree is heavy with fruit at the moment, but most is out of our reach but within reach of birds and small mammals. But there is such an abundance we are happy to share. We are actually able to reach fruit on about a quarter of the tree, if that. We have to wait until one of Pablo’s sons arrives to do their goat-like impersonation, hanging from branch to branch, a skill honed from years of fruit picking. Today JP collects a large bowlful, enough for a cake and to poach some fruit for breakfast. This is my trusted recipe for cake baked with almost any kind of fruit, based on a Nigel Slater original from The Kitchen Diaries. 150g butter
150g sugar
3-4 figs, quartered
3 large eggs [or 4 of Pablo’s]
75g plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
100g ground almonds
50g shelled walnuts or almonds, chopped roughly Set the oven at 180°C. Grease and line a square 20cm cake tin, about 6cm deep with parchment paper.
Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, I always mix my cakes by hand as it seems easier. Rinse the figs, gently pat dry, cut into quarters, or if they are large into eighths. Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat gently, then add bit by bit to the butter mixture. Sift the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl, stirring to mix, fold them gently into the butter mixture. Fold in the ground almonds, then the nuts. Scrape the mixture into the cake tin, give the tin a firm tap on the counter to help the mixture settle and get rid of air bubbles. Place the pieces of fig evenly into the cake mixtures, they will sink during cooking so this is not an artistic process. Bake for 40-45 minutes, test with a skewer, if the skewer comes out clean the cake is done.
Remove the cake from the oven and set the tin on a cooling rack. Once the cake is cold, remove from the tin and peel off the paper. We eat this with a generous spoonful of Mercadona’s Hacendado natural [ie unsweetened] Greek-style yogurt. Keep the cake in a plastic box in the fridge and eat it quickly, it never lasts long in our house.
5 to remember
la habilidad – skill
la imitación – impersonation
pendiente – hanging
el horno – oven
la harina – flour