Fig & Goat Cheese Galette with Caramelized Onions - Testing

https://www.ladycoquillette.fr/2019/09/22/tarte-rustique-aux-figues-ch%C3%A8vre-frais-oignons-confits/

Serves 4 

Prep: 30 min 

Cook: 1 hour 

Rest: 1 hour

1 pie dough 

Olive oil or butter for cooking

2 large red onions

1 yellow onion

Generous pinch of salt

1 tsp honey

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

5 oz fresh goat cheese (like chèvre, soft style)

About 12 fresh figs (approx. 500g)

1 tsp olive oil, plus a little for drizzling

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 pinch Herbes de Provence

1 egg yolk + a splash of milk

1 Tbsp mixed seeds (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin — your choice)

1. Peel and thinly slice the onions.
2. Heat a little oil or butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Cook onions with a good pinch of salt, stirring regularly until very soft and turning brown. If they begin to stick, add a splash of water.
4. Add the honey and balsamic, cook a few more minutes.
5. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
7. Roll out the dough into a thin circle about 16" across.
8. Transfer dough to a baking sheet.
9. Poke the dough all over with a fork.
10. Leaving a 2-inch border around the edge, spread the caramelized onions in the centre of the dough.
11. Crumble the goat cheese over top.
12. Wash figs and cut into quarters.
13. Arrange them nicely over the onion-cheese mixture.
14. Drizzle figs lightly with olive oil.
15. Season with Herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper.
16. Fold the edge of the crust up over the filling, pleating as you go to form a rustic galette.
17. Brush crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with seeds.
18. Bake about 30 minutes.
19. If the crust needs more crisping, slide the galette off the parchment directly onto the oven rack and bake an additional 10 minutes.
20. Best enjoyed warm with a crisp green salad.

Clafoutis aux figues - Testing

1 - This doesn't come from any particular recipe, I've thrown a bunch of things together. So if it works or not, it's all on me! Hah!

12 fresh figs, approx 500g

3 eggs

pinch of salt

110 g (1/2 cup) sugar

100 g (3/4 cup) flour

1 cup milk

1/4 cup yogurt cheese/labneh

2 tsps vanilla

A pinch of cinnamon

1. Cut the figs in half and place them cut-side down in the baking dish.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Grease a glass pie dish in advance.
3. Beat the eggs with the pinch of salt until starting to foam. Whisk in the sugar and flour.
4. In a separate bowl whisk together the milk and yogurt cheese.
5. Gradually add the milk mixture, whisking until you obtain a smooth consistency. 
6. Mix in the vanilla and the pinch of cinnamon.
7. Arrange the figs in a single layer on the bottom of the greased pie dish.
8. Pour the batter over the figs - they should all be under the batter and they may move as you pour, so it's no big deal to nudge things back into place afterwards.
9. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the batter is nice and golden.
10. Allow to cool before serving, either at room temperature or cold.
11. Optionally, you could powder the surface with icing sugar.

Almond Fig Cake - Test 1

https://thecozyplum.com/almond-fig-cake/

1 - The first time was good, but I acted on the notes from making it. One was a recommendation to crowd in more figs, as many as I could in a single layer. The other was my idea of caramelizing sugar to coat the bottom of the cake pan instead of using brown sugar. The caramelized sugar melted in no time and the flavor and texture were excellent. I didn't brown the butter, and I feel like the cake was better. I may try it again and actually let the butter cool completely instead of pushing the envelope like I did last time. Otherwise, it may just be an unnecessary step.

2 - Just a little bit of working on the text, but the cake itself is fine and is ready to be reproduced! We had a second crop of figs this year but the birds are attacking them as they turn colour, they don't even wait for them to ripen, so I've somewhat successfully ripened them indoors. They don't go soft and wet like when they ripen on the tree, but are bit dryer, so they feel more firm when they ripen. I think they may shrink more when they cook. But otherwise work just fine for cooking.

1 cup butter (226g), browned and cooled completely

Fig Layer

⅓ cup brown sugar 67g

½ cup white sugar

12 (more, to crowd the baking dish) fresh figs stems removed and sliced in half

Cake Layer

1 cup (120g) flour 

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ cup granulated sugar 100g

½ cup light brown sugar packed (100g)

2 tsps. vanilla paste or extract

3 large eggs room temperature, whisked

1 cup finely ground almond flour 100g

1. To give it time to resolidify, put the butter in a shallow pan and melt at medium-high heat. 
2. The butter will start to froth and make crackling sounds. 
3. When the crackling slows, part the fine froth to look to the bottom of the pot and you will see the milk solids, which have separated and settled there.
4. When the milk solids start to turn golden brown, remove immediately from the heat source - this stage is quite quick when it comes, and left any longer the butter will be in danger of burning.
5. Put in the refrigerator to allow it to cool and resolidify before using.
6. In a small stainless steel (for the light colour) saucepan, pour in the white sugar. Shake the pan to evenly distribute the sugar - the layer shouldn't be too thick to allow for the sugar to heat evenly.
7. Without any stirring (!) heat the sugar over low to medium heat until it starts to melt. This will begin at the edges - because this is where it starts to melt it also means this is where caramelization starts. 
8. Be patient! DON'T turn up the heat - sugar can burn very quickly.
9. Once the sugar starts to melt around the edges, use a rubber spatula to bring the melted sugar into the middle of the pan.
10. Gently stir, just enough make sure all the sugar is dissolving.
11. Once everything has dissolved, continue to slowly cook, watching constantly and closely ('cause it can burn quickly), until you get the colour you want - light caramel colour = sweeter; dark caramel colour is more complex with bitter notes. 
12. Immediately pour the hot caramel into the cake tin or pie plate or in the individual ramekins and swirl to coat the bottom evenly. Set aside.
13. Preheat the oven to 350℉/180℃.
14. Remove the stems from the figs and slice them in half along the stem.
15. Place the sliced figs cut side down, starting from the center and moving outwards, over the caramelized sugar.
16. In the bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and almond flour and set aside.
17. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on medium high speed for at least 4 minutes or until very light and fluffy.
18. Scrape down the sides, then with the mixer on low, add the vanilla and slowly pour in the eggs. Increase to medium speed for 30 seconds, then scrape down the sides again.
19. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until a smooth batter forms.
20. Gently pour the cake batter on top of the figs and spread it to meet the edges.
21. Bake the cake for 45-55 minutes until the center is no longer jiggly and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
22. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then turn it out onto a serving platter. *Run an offset spatula around the outside of the cake (pushing outwards into the pan) to remove any potentially stuck pieces. After flipping, tap all over the bottom of the cake pan, then lift straight up. 
23. Top the cake or cake slices with fresh figs and a drizzle of honey as an optional flourish.

Fig Jam - Testing

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/228523/black-mission-fig-preserves/

1 - It did not take 20 minutes to get to 210F. I let it go up to 215F. I ended up smushing the figs with the back of a spoon and wonder if they need to stew of 20 minutes, but maybe not at a boil, and then bring them to a boil to reach the 210F? And this made a lot of liquid, and in putting it in jars I saw that the fruit floated to the top. I removed the extra liquid and re-packed just the fruit to start, then added the liquid afterwards just to top it up. I had a whole jar (I don't know how big the small jars are) of liquid left over.

This is my first fig jam recipe, and depending on the outcome, I may want to explore/Frankenstein with, the following:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/215775/real-fig-preserves/ (this one has butter!)

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/fig-preserves-3513998 (this one is about the orange)

https://food52.com/recipes/14138-fig-jam-with-cardamom (this one is about the red wine)

2 cups (300g) fresh Black Mission figs, stemmed and halved

1 cup white sugar

1 cup water

1 Tbsp lime juice

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground ginger

⅛ tsp white pepper

1 13-ounce jar with lid

1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Stir in the figs, lime juice, cinnamon, ginger, and white pepper. Cook, stirring often, until a candy thermometer reads 210 degrees F (100 degrees C), about 20 minutes.
2. While preserves are cooking, sterilize jar and lid in boiling water for at least 5 minutes. Pack the hot preserves into the sterilized jar to within 1/4 inch of the top. Top the jar with the sterilized lid and let cool before storing preserves in the refrigerator.

Figues rôties au jambon (Roasted Figs and Ham) - Untested

 https://www.easy-french-food.com/fresh-fig-recipes.html

8 fresh figs

3 Tbsps honey

2 Tbsps parmesan cheese

2 Tbsps butter

4 slices of bayon ham, or other raw, cured ham

1. Wash the figs and cut them in two. Place them peel side down in a baking dish. Pour a little honey on top of each half, then sprinkle with the parmesan, and finish by placing a small amount of butter on each. Bake in a 400° F oven for about 10 minutes.
2. Place four fig halves on four salad plates along with the ham, which you can roll into a log for an attractive presentation.
3. Serve warm.

Salade Chevre Figue (Cheese and Fig Salad) - Untested

https://www.easy-french-food.com/fresh-fig-recipes.html

4 figs

4 cups mixed baby greens

4 ounces creamy goat cheese, or you could try feta cheese as well

8 walnuts, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon walnut oil

1 tablespoon vinegar (champagne vinegar works well)

salt and pepper

1. Wash the figs. For an attractive presentation, cut the fig in four without cutting through the stem, and allow the fruit to fan open.
2. Garnish four salad plates with the greens and the figs. Place one ounce of cheese alongside the fig, and sprinkle with walnuts.
3. Prepare a vinaigrette with the olive oil, walnut oil, vinegar and salt and pepper. Pour on top and serve.

Chocolate Paté - Untested

 https://www.canadianliving.com/food/recipe/chocolate-pate-with-fig-topping

8 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup icing sugar

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup whipping cream

Fig Topping:

3/4 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup orange liqueur

3 Tbsps orange juice concentrate

4 fresh green figs quartered

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

16 fresh raspberries

1. Line 5-3/4-x 3-1/4-inch (625 mL) loaf pan with plastic wrap; set aside.
2. In saucepan, melt together chocolate, butter and sugar over medium-low heat until smooth. Whisk in egg yolks, one at a time; cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until thickened and glossy. Transfer to large bowl; let cool to room temperature.
3. In separate bowl, whip cream; fold one-quarter into chocolate. Fold in remaining whipped cream. Spoon into prepared loaf pan. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or until firm. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.) To unmould, gently pull on plastic wrap to loosen top edge of pate from pan; unmould onto cutting board. Cut into 8 slices.
4. Fig Topping: Meanwhile, in saucepan, bring sugar, water, orange liqueur and orange juice concentrate to boil; boil for 5 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes to cool slightly. Stir in figs and lemon juice. Spoon onto 8 dessert plates; top with slice of pate. Sprinkle plate with raspberries.

Untested - Figs with goat cheese and honey

http://bettyrosbottom.com/2012/07/08/the-10-minute-summer-fruit-and-cheese-dessert/

8 ripe, figs or apricots
4 to 5 ounces chèvre
Honey for drizzling
2 to 3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1. Halve the figs lengthwise. If using apricots, halve and remove the pits. 
2. Divide the cheese between the fruit pieces and mound on top, then drizzle with a little honey. 
3. Sprinkle each serving with some thyme leaves.