Fall Fig Cake
Fall Fig Cake
by Chef Tina Hoban
As a new chef here at Wood Stone, I am learning that baking in a wood fired oven is a beautiful meld of art and science. The science is in formulating a recipe and understanding the conditions you need for your creation to be successful. The art is where the fun is …it’s understanding that conditions in your oven will change, based on how you have built your fire, or set your flame. The art is in watching your creation as it bakes and finding the spot that works best in that moment. I can tell you that I cooked my fig cake in the door of the oven, which tends to be cooler, and I can tell you how long my cake cooked in my oven. But these are meant as only guides, as you work on the art inside your oven.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- 8 Tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 6 fresh figs
METHOD
- Grease two 6” casuela dishes, or one 10” cast iron skillet*. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and cardamom. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar.
- Whisk the cream into the butter/sugar mixture.
- Add the flour and whisk again, until you have a smooth batter.
- Spread out the batter evenly in the bottom of your prepared pans.
- Cut the figs into wedges and place them on top, pushing them into the batter a little.
I put these cakes in the doorway of the oven, which was reading 580 F and baked them for 22 minutes, turning occasionally.
*If cooking in cast iron, which is more conductive, I put the pan on an upside-down cake pan to keep the bottom from getting too brown.
