From the Wed., Aug. 21st edition of The New York Times

This past weekend got off to a sweet start with a visit to Briermere Farm in Riverhead, NY, a farm stand on the north fork of Long Island with a well-deserved reputation for turning out some of the East End’s very best pies, as well as for having one of the largest pie selections anywhere. On the day we visited I counted 27 varieties displayed in several large cases, including one case that I estimate to be about 6 feet high and that was filled to the top with different fruit pies. I don’t know if you’ve ever had the experience of standing in front of that many pies, but it can take your breath away… at least it did me. And, not surprisingly, it also made choosing just one pie a difficult process. So after multiple false starts (and some frustration from the growing line of patrons behind us) we finally decided on two: a strawberry pie, and a raspberry cream variety, and at the last minute threw in a still-warm-from-the-oven blueberry muffin and a cinnamon roll for good measure. But Briermere isn’t just about baked goods—they’re also a farm stand in the classic sense, which this time of year means a bounty of locally grown fruits and vegetables to choose from. So in addition to those pies and other goodies, we left laden down with tomatoes, avocados, nectarines (the best I’ve had all summer!), several types of greens, and two pints of figs that, though small (and, it must be said, probably not local), were perfectly ripe and wonderfully sweet.

Under any circumstances those figs were something I would have had a hard time passing up, though the fact that I was haunted by the fig and almond cake recipe I’d seen in The Times a week earlier meant that I was buying with a definite purpose in mind. In other words, despite having already committed to the purchase of two pies, there would also be a freshly baked cake in our weekend lineup. That’s a lot of dessert even by my glutinous standards, but it proved the perfect antidote to a cloudy Labor Day weekend, when neither the sun, nor the rain, ever actually made much of an appearance.

Aside from the pleasure of cooking with figs at the very height of their season, one of the things that appealed to me most about the Times’ cake recipe (which I’ve reproduced for you here) is that it paired the fruit with a batter infused with freshly ground almonds and almond extract. I’m a fan of almonds in almost any form, but in the context of baking, something truly miraculous happens with them, perfuming the various other ingredients with a whiff of the exotic. That’s certainly the case here, though those freshly ground almonds also lend the cake a rustic, crunchy texture that’s a nice counterpoint to the floral character offered by the extract. And all of those qualities offer the perfect counterpoint to the subtle, yet concentrated flavor of the fruit. As such, it makes for a not-too-sweet cake that works as well at breakfast time as it does for a low-key dessert.

It’s a lovely combination of qualities made even more so by the ease with which the cake is assembled. To start you grind a cup of raw almonds with a ¼ cup of sugar in a food processor until it’s coarse and powdery—sort of the consistency of wet sand. To this you add a ¼ cup of all-purpose flour, and small amounts each of baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together three eggs, half a stick of melted butter, 2 tablespoons of honey, and ½ teaspoon of the aforementioned almond extract. Once combined, add this to the almond mixture until just incorporated and pour into a well-buttered pan. All that remains is to stem and slice your figs in half (12 should be sufficient, though if you’re using small sized ones as I did here you’ll need to increase the number to 20 or so), lay them cut side up across the surface of the batter, sprinkle with a few tablespoons of sugar, and slide into a 375˚ oven for thirty minutes. Almost immediately the batter begins to rise around the sliced fruit, with the juice and sugar ultimately combining to create a a shimmering glaze across the golden surface of the finished cake.

As tempting as it is to slice into the cake as soon as it exits the oven, it’s best to allow some time for it to cool down, as it will likely fall apart if you move in too soon. That being said, this is a cake best enjoyed the day it’s made, when the nutty crumb still retains a maximum of moisture. In fact, it’s that damp, grainy texture that’s one of the highlights here. Serve each slice with a dollop of whipped cream if you wish, but in my book this is one of those desserts that’s at its best when allowed to shine all on its own, without any embellishments.

Ingredients:
—4 tbs butter, melted, plus more for greasing pan
—1 cup natural raw almonds (not blanched)
—1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tbs for sprinkling
—1/4 cup all-purpose flour
—1/2 tsp baking powder
—1/8 tsp cinnamon
—1/8 tsp salt
—3 eggs, beaten
—2 tbs honey
—1/2 tsp almond extract
—12 to 14 ripe figs (more if small)

Special equipment:
—A 9-inch fluted tart pan or pie pan.

Directions:
—Heat oven to 375˚.
—Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan or pie pan; set aside.
—Put almonds and ¼ cup sugar in a food processor and grind to a coarse powder. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; pulse to combine.
—In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter, honey, and almond extract. Add almond mixture and beat for a minute until batter is just combined. Pour batter into a pan.
—Remove stem from each fig and cut in half. Arrange fig halves cut-side up over the batter. Sprinkle figs with sugar and bake for 30 minutes, until golden outside and dry at center when probed with a cake tester. Cool before serving.

8 servings

The post 09/03/13 • FIG AND ALMOND CAKE appeared first on THE RECIPE GRINDER.

Adapted from the March, 2013 Food and Wine

I’m not really one to complain about the weather. I grew up in Philadelphia, so winters that are cold, damp, and gray strike me as being part of the natural rhythm of things—the bargain you make for those warmer, sunnier months. This is actually a source of some conflict between Alfredo and me. As a child of Miami’s sunshine he tends to take cold, dreary weather personally; it seems wrong to him, and it makes him angry. And the fact that it doesn’t elicit that reaction from me can make him angry too. “Brad doesn’t mind the weather,” he’ll tell people. “He likes putting on a sweater” (as though this were some weird personal tick). I can only laugh, because he’s right—I do like putting on a sweater (even a knit hat, which can provide me with the fleeting impression that I’ve got my head on straight!). But the thing is my impulse to bundle up is less about a love of the cold than it is a tendency to soldier on and make the best of a less-than-ideal situation. Because like most of the world, I’d way prefer warmth and sunshine to cold and freezing rain. That said, even I, the sweater-lover, can’t help but check the weather report this time of year for signs of a warm-up—you see, I, too, have had just about as much winter as I can handle. It’s a shift that’s invariably reflected in the foods I’m drawn to as we limp towards spring, recipes such as this one for black olive tapenade.

Is there any food that says sun and warmth as clearly as tapenade? Alright, I’m sure there are plenty, but tapenade—with its sunny, arid associations—is pretty high on the list. This version comes from none other than that maestro of French cooking, Jacques Pépin, who contributed the recipe to Food and Wine a number of years ago (the magazine reprinted it in their March issue, in honor of some anniversary or other). But here’s the thing that sets his version apart: in addition to all those brine-y black olives that are the mainstay of most tapenades, this recipe calls for the surprise appearance of dried figs and mint. That combination was too much for me to resist—because of its summery appeal for sure, but also because of the sweet/tangy flavor combination promised by the ingredients.

And, of course, this being a tapenade, there’s virtually no work involved in preparing it, unless you count measuring out a quantity of olives (a mix of kalamata and oil-cured black olives), mint leaves, and capers as work. Okay, there’s also a little bit of chopping involved (in the form of six small dried figs), and you do have to peel and crush two cloves of garlic. But beyond this all that’s required is placing the aforementioned ingredients into the bowl of a food processor along with some anchovy fillets and a quarter cup of olive oil, pressing the “pulse” button, and the “heavy lifting” is complete. Season with salt and pepper to taste, chill for half an hour, and you’re good to go—a concentrated shot of sunshine. And I mean that literally, as the individual flavors of the mint, the fig, and the olive come blasting through, even as they combine to produce a flavor all their own.

Having said that, depending on your fondness for garlic you might want to consider decreasing the number of cloves here from two to one; I’m a big garlic fan and I found the flavor a little too intense, though it’s possible I was working with a particularly strong variety. I would not, however, make the same recommendation for the anchovy. Even if you’re not a fan (and I know many aren’t), as with some salad dressings, in combination with the other ingredients the flavor here reads as salty/tangy and not fishy, so it’s an element you don’t want to eliminate or dial down.

And one final thought about serving: Pépin suggests spreading the tapenade onto bagel chips, and though their salty/crunchy quality offers a nice counterpoint to the sweetness delivered by the fig and the mint, my recommendation would be to go with homemade crostini instead. There’s a little more effort involved in this option, of course, but if you have the time and inclination, it’s an alternative that will offer the same crunch and salty satisfaction as the chips, but with that much more vibrant flavor. (A simple crostini recipe follows at the end of this posting). Still, go the easy route and tear open a bag if you must—truthfully, you can’t go wrong here.

Happy almost-spring everyone!

P.S. That’s Lily in the image near the bottom—as you can see, she likes the sun, too (almost as much as her bone).

Ingredients:
—3/4 cup pitted oil-cured black olives
—3/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
—6 small dried figs, coarsely chopped
—2 tbs capers, rinsed
—2 small garlic cloves, crushed
—1/4 cup packed mint leaves
—4 anchovy fillets
—1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
—Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
—Bagel chips, for serving (TRG note: Or serve with crostini; see recipe below)

Directions:
—In a food processor, pulse the olives, figs, capers, garlic, mint, anchovies, and olive oil until the tapenade is thick and somewhat chunky. Season with salt and pepper.
—Transfer the tapenade to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled.
—Serve with bagel chips. (TRG note: Crostini would also be good here—maybe better. See directions, below).

Makes about 1½ cups

Directions for crostini:
—Preheat oven to 350˚. Arrange baguette slices (about 1/4″ thick) on two large rimmed baking sheets; brush both sides generously with olive oil, and season with kosher salt and pepper.
—Bake until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.
—Serve immediately. (Store any leftovers in a resealable plastic bag; these are great even several days later… like a really good, thick-cut potato chip!)

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