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Fresh fig cobbler

Take a break from the usual peach and apple dessert with this light and sweet alternative.
Fresh fig cobbler (Photo: Miriam Kresh)

I’m loopy over fresh figs; such a seductive fruit. And I love the fig tree, especially on hot summer nights, when the big, coarse leaves smell deliciously like vanilla and cinnamon. I like its sturdy stance, and the branches so generously laden with green and purple-striped fruit. To open a fig plucked right off the tree and see the mysterious red heart that promises a mouthful of sweetness, well … it’s a moment to cherish and come back to when you need to remember how good life can be.

There’s a great big old fig tree in my neighborhood that I visit once in a while, checking if the hard, green little figs have ripened yet. I suspect the neighborhood kids and the birds will get most of them, but maybe I’ll get some too, if I’m alert. Until I can forage my figs, the market offers plenty of them. So I brought 4 pounds home.

Four pounds! That’s a lot of delicate figs. Now I had a kitchen quandary. Could we eat them up before they spoil?

Figs baked with honey; that was good. Chilled fresh figs with frozen arak poured on top; also good. And a cobbler, to finish them up. The recipe’s easy and it only takes half an hour to bake. The cobbler is light, just sweet enough, and a little different from the usual peach or apple cobblers.

Fig Cobbler Recipe

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Prep10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Yield6

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar (add another 1/2 cup later)
  • 2 tbsp softened butter (or margarine)
  • 2 tbsp milk (or orange juice)
  • 1/2 cup sweet (or semi-sweet) wine (I use Emerald Riesling)
  • 3-4 cups figs (sliced into quarters)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Whipped cream (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C). Use a medium cake pan or quiche dish.
  • Cut the stem end away from the tops of the figs; discard them and quarter the fruit. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the figs and set aside.
  • Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Beat the eggs; add 1/2 cup of sugar. Add the butter or margarine and the milk.
  • Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Stir gently until everything is combined. Pour the batter into the pan.
  • In a medium saucepan, boil the wine and the second 1/2 cup of sugar for 5 minutes. Add the figs; turn them over in the hot syrup and pour the mixture over the batter.
  • Bake 30 minutes.
  • Serve warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream if you wish.

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