Figs either dried or fresh are my favorite food. Figs are known for their natural goodness and health benefits.You know its been a dream to visit Israel, I have heard about how the houses in Israel are blessed with fruits and vegetables like dates, figs, avocados, bananas, apples, cherries, plums, nectarines, grapes, strawberries, prickly pear (tzabbar), persimmon, loquat (shesek) and pomegranates.Read more about this here Linking this recipe to I love Baking
Fresh figs are low in fat (the same as an apple per 100g) and is one of the fruit with the densest quantity of the minerals: calcium and phosphorus (great for bones and teeth), magnesium (muscles) iron and potassium. It also contains lots of vitamin B3.
Dried figs are concentrated in sugar and are good for a mid afternoon energy snack (2/3 with a yoghurt for example) and after physical exercise too.
The fruit is really rich in fiber which is great for slow tummies and contains many antioxidants (that’s my favorite part), especially in the violet skinned figs, which help to neutralize certain waste in our bodies and help with the absorption of vitamins in the body!
This fig bread is ideal for breakfast, warm it and serve hot with tea/coffee. You can top it with maple syrup if you wish. It stores well in the refrigerator in airtight container. Baking with figs is a great idea and making it healthy is totally an option. So I opted to bake healthy using natural and gluten free ingredients. This Fig bread is filled with goodness and has a lovely sponge texture that is easy to chew. I have combined banana and little of light brown sugar for the sweetness. The flour is plain but gluten free, if you are not able to get a gluten-free flour not a problem replace it with any flour of your choice. You can top this bread with any choice of fresh fruit/ nuts of your choice.
For those who have never tasted figs as a fruit~ its a mild fruit which is easy to eat and not too sweet like the dried one, they say that dried fruits are coated with sugar syrup.
Recipe Source ~ adapted from Healthy happy life
Prep & cook time ~ 30 mins
Makes ~ 9 medium-big squares
Ingredients
Fresh figs ~ 4 no (sliced thin)
Ripe bananas ~ 2 (mashed)
nuts ~ handful (I used almond flakes & dried cranberries)
Gluten free plain flour ~ 1 cup
Brown sugar ~ 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 1tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Spice - 1 tsp (I used cardamom)
Rolled oats - 1 cup
Milk - 1/4-1/2 cup (I used semi-skimmed)
Method
- Line a baking tin with parchment and grease paper, set aside. Chop the figs, nuts and dried fruits.
- In a medium-sized bowl combine all the dry ingredients and add the mashed banana mix well. To this add the milk, just little by little until you get a thick batter like consistency, make sure it is not liquid. In case its too watery just add more flour/ oats
- Now drop the batter in the prepared tin. Top it with the sliced figs and nuts. Drizzle some brown sugar on top of the figs for a caramelized effect.
- Put it in a preheated oven in the middle, bake for 30-35 minutes @ 170C/ 350F
- Once done, check with a toothpick and let it sit in the cooling rack for 20 minutes
Serve warm with tea
Cook Wisdom
- I added 2 banana's and reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup, the bread was medium sweet, if you want to add more sugar please do so.
- You can add you favorite spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, dried ginger and so on
- You can mix and match ingredients to suit your taste and top with your favorite fruit too
