I discovered the beauty of fresh figs when I was living in Nelson undertaking my first clinical job at Nelson Hospital. The abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables available at the Saturday morning market was a weekly highlight for me … not to forget grabbing a good coffee too! If you haven’t yet been to these markets, I couldn’t recommend them more. This recipe was inspired from my wonderful Nelson memories…enjoy.
INGREDIENTS
· 165g butter, softened · ½ cup sugar · 3 free range eggs · Flesh of 8 medium figs · 1 medium banana, mashed · 100g apple sauce · ½ cup milk · ¾ cup gluten free self-raising flour · 1 cup ground almonds · 2 tsp. baking powder · 1 tsp. baking soda · ½ cup macadamias, roughly chopped
METHOD
1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C and line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs one by one and beat each until well combined.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the figs, banana, and apple. Add in the milk and stir to combine.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into the butter mix. Fold through the ground almonds and macadamias.
5. Add the fruit mix to butter mix and gently fold to combine.
6. Pour the mix into the cake tin and bake for 60 – 70 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Keep an eye on it as I have found baking times with this cake to be variable.
7. Leave cake to cool in tin for 30 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
SUBSTITUTIONS AND TIPS
· The cake is delicious served slightly warmed with a tart unsweetened natural yoghurt.
· Store in an airtight container for up to five days.
· If you don’t have apple sauce, feel free to use apple puree or 100g of grated apple.
· If the recipe does not need to be coeliac friendly, use standard self-raising flour.
· Walnuts can be used as an alternative to macadamias.