Holiday and Special Occasions: Christmas: Fabulous Fig Bread

Wrapped as a gift or eaten on the spot, complement your tea or coffee with this delicious fruit and nut bread!

Author: California Fig Advisory Board - www.californiafigs.com
Date: December 26, 2012

Suggestions: For a homemade gift, wrap the loaf in cellophane wrap and add a ribbon.

Serves: 22 person(s)
Yield: 22 x slices (or 1 loaf)

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hrs
Extra Time: 1 hrs 15 mins (for cooling)

Ingredients:

1 cup California dried figs, stems removed, chopped fine or ground
1 cup unsalted pistachios
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, or 3 Tbsp egg substitute
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

In a medium-sized heatproof bowl, combine the figs and pistachios; add the boiling water and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy, and gradually beat in the sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until lightened, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and beat just until blended. With a spoon, blend in the fig mixture.

Turn batter into a greased 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch loaf pan, and bake in preheated oven until the bread just begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and the top springs back when lightly touched, 1 to 1-1/4 hour. Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, and then turn out and cool completely. Wrap in plastic and store overnight before serving. Cut into thin slices.

Variations:

Top with apricot or orange fruit spread and low-fat whipped cream (such as Ricotta Cream or Cashew Cream - see recipes below).

Serving suggestions are not included in the nutritional analysis.

Related Recipes:

Cashew Cream
Ricotta Cream