fig
food, home

Forget the Banana Bread

Forestwood

Forget the Banana Bread, that is so yesterday! The new kid on the block at the Home by the Sea, is a breakfast Fig and Walnut Loaf.

Never having with Figs before, I was convinced to give it a go when my local cafe shut down. One of their signature breakfast dishes was a delicious Fig and Walnut Loaf. Not to be defeated, I decided to replicate this delight on my own.

The recipe was simple and straightforward, however I recommend exercising restraint with the quantity of figs. 250 grams of Figs constitutes a a whole packet and I only added half of that amount to this mix. That was more than enough and still leaves you with a very figgy loaf, which is fine, but I would suggest reducing the figs to 100 grams and adding a tad more walnuts.

But that is just my personal taste.

Suggested Variations

A nice variation would be to substitute a blend of Dried Apricots and Figs, or a mix of nuts. I suggest hazelnuts or pecans as well as walnuts.

I am sure you will absolutely love this dish for breakfast. As it takes 90 minutes to cook a deep loaf, I used two small loaf tins and a long 20 x 10 cm pan. The smaller pans were done in 30 minutes, whilst the larger took 75 minutes at the recommended temperature.

Fig and Walnut Loaf Recipe

Ingredients

  • 125 grams or 1/2 cup unsalted Butter, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups Water
  • 1/2 cup Buttermilk or Kefir
  • 250 grams or 1 cup Dried Figs**
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 1/4 cups Brown Sugar
  • 2 cups Wholemeal Spelt Flour, sifted
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Mixed Spice
  • 1 cup Walnuts, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Dessicated Coconut

Method

  1. Grease and line a large Non-stick Loaf Tin
  2. Place butter and water in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat.
  3. When butter is melted, add figs. Bring to the boil and remove from heat. 
  4. Transfer figs and butter mixture to a large bowl and allow to cool.
  5. Add buttermilk, eggs, brown sugar, flour, baking powder and mixed spice to bowl and stir to combine.
  6. Add walnuts and coconut and stir one last time.
  7. Pour into prepared tin.
  8. Bake in 160c oven for 90 minutes.
  9. Slice and serve with butter, and Garnish with mint, strawberries and dusting of icing sugar.

Original recipe from newideafood.com.au

Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here at StPA, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics and what drives us to be who we are. Scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent, trying to unleash a little creativity via the written word. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I'm Australian. Travel and courteous discussions greatly broaden the mind, so I travel if I can and am always up for a vigorous, respectful discussion. I'm an avid reader, a writer and I enjoy photography and crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in my WordPress Community.

42 thoughts on “Forget the Banana Bread”

  1. Pingback: Discover a New Friendly Friday Photo Challenge – Something to Ponder About

  3. This looks delicious. How is your sourdough culture progressing Amanda? We have a the New Norcia bakery here in the Perth, which specialises in sour dough breads. They make a fig and walnut sour dough loaf which, when toasted and slavered with butter, is to die for.

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    1. I have had a few hiccups Chris, but certain things helped the starter improve. Sandy suggested I leave it in the same bowl and fed it only once a day and that seemed to help – I kept in mind your mantra that it is very laid back and people have been doing it for centuries. Yesterday I made my first sourdough rolls. I used all the starter – so I will have to start another Mother. But that is okay. I will wait a week or so before doing that. As the Moth doesn’t eat sourdough – too scratchy on the crust for him. So I don’t need a whole lot every week. Thanks for your supportive advice, I really appreciated it.
      The fig and walnut sour dough sounds delicious. We don’t have that bakery chain here – it sounds Nordic?

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      4. I should be more specific. I pour/spoon off 125 grams of starter, add 200ml of warm water and 200 grams of bread flour. That then is my new/fed/refreshed starter. I set that aside for a couple of hours and then store in the fridge until next time. I cook with whatever is leftover from the original. That’s usually about 380 grams in all.

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    1. I am happy to hear that it is creates possibilities. I also like recipes that are simple and adapatable. This one is one of those. I am looking forward to seeing what creation you come up with, Ju-Lyn. Do you often cook with figs?

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  5. It looks good! I was surprised to see the Spelt flour. Do you use this often or was it just for this recipe? I’ve baked breads with spelt before and admit that it’s not my favorite. It has good flavor but I find its texture dry. But that was with yeast breads. This batter bread might be better. I’ll have to go check if I have any spelt flour left over!

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    1. I have never cooked with spelt flour before so this was a first. I think it was okay, not dry. The figs kept it moist. You could try it with white/wholemeal flour too, that would be interesting.

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    2. I’m wondering if your spelt flour was old or something? I routinely use spelt because for me it produces moister, tastier results and I now rarely use anything else. I’d encourage you to give it another chance!

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      1. Interesting comment, Margaret and I wonder about Sandy’s spelt flour and also the shelf life of the spelt flour I purchased. It may have been a little old, but then I don’t have anything to compare it with, as this was a first time for me. It may not be a big seller at the supermarket and could have sat there for some time.

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      3. My Norwegian friends were big fans of spelt flour, and I am wondering if there is a particular health benefit that might increase its appeal?

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    1. I am not a big fan of banana bread so I very much enjoyed this alternative too, Margaret. I do hope you will try this. Have you ever cooked with figs before? The good thing about dried figs is that they are not season dependent.

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      1. I did save the recipe, Amanda and will make as soon as I can get all the ingredients and a cool day. We are coming into summer with a hammer. Almost 90 yesterday and only slightly cooler today. I do not do summers well. Sigh.

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