The artists are here! The artists are here! Kelly Walker and her art student, Linda, arrived yesterday afternoon from Virginia to paint my walls. I set them to work right away–not painting–making cheese! They made a pot of mozzarella and I shredded it for pizza last night made with fresh herbs and tomatoes from my garden–and their cheese. It was delicious.
The lovely Linda has a fig tree, and she climbed up in it in the rain yesterday morning to bring me a bag of fresh figs! This morning, I made Figs & Cream Coffee Cake with some homemade cream cheese and fresh figs. It was delicious, too! So delicious, I must share it with you!
Fig Porn:
I based this recipe on my Strawberries & Cream Coffee Cake, so I’m not going to repeat the recipe here (plus, I’m kinda in a hurry!). I made it with figs (almost) just like I made it with strawberries.
I used a cup of chopped fresh figs instead of strawberries in the dough, rolled out the dough and topped it with a filling of cheese and more figs (lightly mashed).
I cut strips in the dough on the sides of the filling.
I made a braid with the strips of dough, wrapping up the filling then transferred to a greased baking sheet.
After baking (375 for 25-30 minutes), I drizzled a powdered sugar icing on top.
This was absolutely to die for.
The step-by-step recipe and printable for the Strawberries & Cream Coffee Cake is here (which is the same as for the Figs & Cream, except for the substitution of figs in the dough and mashed figs in the filling). If you can get hold of some figs, you must try it!
The painting has now begun. They shared their amazing plan with me this morning, and I’m so excited. Stay tuned for photos as it happens!
prayingpup says:
We had fig trees in the front yard when I was a kid. My Mom wore me out on figs! Now, I MISS them! You can’t find a fig in this area (or much else) . . . . I sure wish I had some figs now! My Mom made a wonderful fig butter!
On August 28, 2011 at 9:51 am
emeraldsunshine says:
I love figs. They are so delicious. I’ll even eat them straight out of a bag.
On August 28, 2011 at 10:45 am
joykenn says:
I don’t think our figs ever lasted to be in a recipe. The neighborhood kids and I ate them ALL as soon as they ripened. I remember gently squeezing a fig to see if it might be ripe AT LAST. Beautiful fresh ripe figs look like a flower inside when you bite into them–nothing like the dried ones. So delicate and lightly sweet.
MUST HAVE FIGS, MUST HAVE FRESH FIGS! Excuse me I must head right out to the local fruit & vegetable store…..
On August 28, 2011 at 12:15 pm
boulderneigh says:
Oh YUM! I just happen to know where there are fresh green figs for the picking, so I’m grabbing some containers, picking some figs and trying this!
On August 28, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Ms.Becky says:
I only had fresh figs once, when I was in Hawaii my sister-in-law had a tree in her backyard. I picked a whole lot of them but wasn’t allowed to take them out of the state for some reason that I can no longer recall. I was pissed. anyway, this cake is on my list…of things to bake one day. :yes: :yes: :yes:
On August 28, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Flowerpower says:
My Grandfather had 2 fig trees as I was growing up and I loved them then and I love them now. 2 new fig trees were planted this spring and I am hoping for a fig crop next year! :snoopy:
On August 28, 2011 at 5:30 pm
boulderneigh says:
I just tried this recipe as written, and it didn’t work AT ALL for me! HELP! Yours looks SOOO good. My “dough” was almost a batter, and even after I added more flour (at least a 1/2 cup more) it was too soft to work with. I ended up scooping the mass into an oversized bread pan and baking it, but it turned out like a pretty flat brick that tasted like raw flour, even though I baked it 40 minutes.
On August 28, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
boulderneigh, I’m so sorry!! I hate when a recipe doesn’t work out for someone!
On August 28, 2011 at 9:08 pm
wtrmllngirl says:
I see here that you just used mashed figs instead of a fig jam-type thing…does that mean that I can use mashed strawberries instead of jam in the original recipe? I’m not really a fan of jam, but I loooove strawberries…
On September 1, 2011 at 9:20 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
wtrmllngirl, yes, I’m sure you could!
On September 1, 2011 at 11:28 am