Ingredients
- 1 pound dried figs, stemmed
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 2 tablespoons whole sesame seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon whole anise seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- a pinch of ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon honey
- brandy, as needed
- I only needed about 2-3 tablespoons of brandy to bring everything together.
Preparation
Step 1
Instructions:
Toast the almonds in a dry skillet and grind in a food processor or spice grinder. Pulse gently until roughly chopped, keeping the almonds from turning into a paste.
Using a food processor or two Chinese cleavers (guess which method I used), mince the stemmed figs until a rough paste is formed.
Mix the figs with the ground toasted almonds, sesame seeds, anise seeds, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon
Moisten your hands with 1 teaspoon of sherry and shape fig mixture into a 5- by 3-inch log. Wrap in a 12- by 12-inch sheet of parchment paper, then plastic, and place in a 5- by 3- by 2-inch loaf pan,
Place a second loaf pan on top of the log to compress it into a firm cake, and allow to set for 2 days at room temperature.
Or use a muffin pan as a mold to form 8 single-serving fig cakes:
Slice the cake into thin slices about ¼ inch thick.