Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Gram's Fig Spice Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Glaze for #BundtaMonth


This summer I went to a farmers’ market in New Iberia, Louisiana with my grandmother.  We bought a bunch of figs and I made her fig preserves.  I mean I made fig preserves for her, from HER own recipe.  Simplest recipe ever and you can find it here.  On that same visit, she let me clear out the drawer of recipes and cookbooks that she had accumulated over the years and take them home with me.  Amongst them, I found her handwritten recipe for fig cake with buttermilk glaze.


Unfortunately, I had sent her all the fig preserves I made so, how to make the cake?  Until I found this on the shelf at my local Carrefour in Cairo.


Back in business!  Are the Carrefour preserves as a good as Gram’s homemade ones?  Probably not.  But this cake is awesome and delicious and it is also my contribution for November’s edition of BundtaMonth where we are making spice cake.  Scroll on down to the bottom of this post to see links to all the lovely spice Bundt cakes that have been made this month.   Gram has a serious sweet tooth and I think she would like them all!  Many thanks to our hosts for this challenge:  Anuradha at Baker Street and Lora at Cake Duchess.

BundtaMonth

My grandmother will turn 99 years old next month – on 22 December - and we are hoping and praying that she continues in good health so we can celebrate 100 years next year.  And many birthdays thereafter.  We think she has a shot at a world record.  She still asks to go to the casino on her birthday because they give her free money to gamble!  We should all live so long and so well.

Here she is hopping up on the red swing in her yard last summer.  Red has always been her favorite color and the swing is her favorite place to hang out.


Her one true love lately is this cat she calls Minou. Which means Kitty in French.  All of her cats over the years have been called Minou.  Because she has a great sense of humor and it keeps life simple.


And one last photo where she is smiling.  That's a hard one to catch.  With her two youngest children, my Aunt Nonnie and Uncle Kippy. :)  My father is her eldest and he just turned 77 this month.  Imagine if your child is 77!  Love you, Gram!


Ingredients 
For the Bundt:
2 cups or 250g flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups or 340g sugar
1 cup or 225g butter, melted and cooled
1 cup or 240ml buttermilk
3 eggs
1 cup fig preserves (if using homemade, chop the figs and use the juice as well)
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans because I am pretty sure that’s what Gram would have used.)
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the glaze:
1 cup or 220g sugar
1/2 cup or 120ml buttermilk
1 tablespoon corn syrup or Lyle’s Golden Syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons or 60g butter

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease and flour your Bundt pan liberally.

Mix dry ingredients, add butter and beat well.




Add eggs one at a time, alternating with buttermilk.




Scrape down the bowl.


Then add figs, nuts and vanilla.  Beat for another couple of minutes on medium.


Pour into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.



Leave the cake to cool for at least 10 minutes then run a knife or wooden skewer around the pan edges to loosen.  I clearly overfilled my pan so I had to cut around the middle to make sure it would release.



Put your cake plate on top of the Bundt pan and invert.  If you have greased and floured it well, the cake should drop out easily.  Allow to cool completely.


While the cake is cooling, let’s make the glaze.  Mix all ingredients and boil for six minutes, stirring constantly.  The original recipe says three minutes but the glaze was very runny and I figured, even on a cooled cake, most of it would end up on the cake plate below.



Allow to cool until it thickens slightly.  Drizzle over cake.



This glaze hardens somewhat and turns almost clear on the cake, making a shiny sticky, chewy outside which is the perfect match for the tender crumb inside.  I cannot tell you how freaking good this is.  Hats off to you, Gram!  It’s a winner.





Enjoy!

Check out all the other BundtaMonth cakes for Spicy November:

Apple Bundt Cake with an Attitude by Deb | Knitstamatic
Blueberry Cinnamon Bundt Cake by Anuradha | Baker Street
Cardamom Bundt Cake with Rosewater Glaze by Paula | Vintage Kitchen
Cinnamon Crown Bundt Cake by Renee | Magnolia Days
Ginger Pear Bundt Cake by Holly | A Baker's House
Gingerbread Apple Cake by Lora | Cake Duchess
Gram's Fig Spice Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Glaze by Stacy | Food Lust People Love
Italian Anise Bundt Cake by Karen | In The Kitchen with KP
Maple Pecan Bundt with Maple Glaze by Jennie | The Messy Baker Blog
Mexican Chocolate Bundt Cake by Alice Choi | Hip Foodie Mom
Moroccan Inspired Olive Oil Bundt Cake with Ras El Hanout by Laura | The Spiced Life
Nutmeg Bundt Cake by Dorothy | Shockingly Delicious
Peach and Roasted Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Cinnamon Sugar by Kim | Cravings Of A Lunatic
Spiced Dark Chocolate with Cinnamon Glaze by Kate | Food Babbles
Spicy Chocolate Bourbon Bundt Cake by Carrie | Poet In The Pantry

Here’s how you can join #BundtAMonth  -
- Bake your Bundt for November following the theme – Spice.
- Post it before November 30, 2012.
- Use the #BundtAMonth hashtag in your title. (For ex: title should read #BundtAMonth: Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt)
- Add your entry to the Linky tool below
- Link back to both Lora and Anuradha’s announcement posts.
   

36 comments :

  1. What a special recipe and I'm so happy that you shared it with us, Stacy! Here's to your grandma's 99th!


    Cheers!
    A

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  2. Love the recipe and the post. The hand-written recipe is definitely a treasure!

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  3. Thanks, Meena. I carried them all in my hand luggage! So afraid the luggage would get lost. Some things are just irreplaceable.

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  4. Thanks, Anuradha! She is one special lady!

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  5. What a lovely post and tribute to your Gram! The cake sound so wonderful, especially for the holidays.

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  6. Paula @ Vintage KitchenNovember 8, 2012 at 5:19 PM

    This is a sweet post! And the fact that I´m mad about figs makes this cake jump to the top of my bundt cakes to try! Wonderful recipe!

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  7. Thanks, Paula! I'm mad about figs too but I usually just like to eat them straight off of the tree. When we were little, my grandparents on both sides had fig trees in their yards and it was our job to pick. The reward was being able to eat as we picked. Heaven. This cake is a close second to fresh figs straight off the tree, in my book!

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  8. Thanks, Renee! I think it would be great as a Thanksgiving or Christmas treat. I am not much of a sweet eater but I had a small piece of this to taste. And then a bigger piece. :) It was that good.

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  9. First of all, I absolutely LOVE that you have your grandmother's HANDWRITTEN recipe for this fig bundt cake! How lovely is that? And she is just adorable! And WOW, Happy early birthday to your 99 year old grandmother on 12/22 and here's to 100! I loved this post. . and LOVE your beautiful bundt pan! :)

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  10. Wow!! Almost 99 years old! God bless her. My great grandfather lived to be 100 and it always amazes me to think of all the changes they must have seen in their lifetime. Astounding! This cake is gorgeous and I love that buttermilk glaze. Delicious!

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  11. Jennie @themessybakerblogNovember 8, 2012 at 5:26 PM

    I love handwritten recipes. They're a form of nostalgia I adore. I have a ton of them copied from my great-grandmother's original recipes. Your granny is so cute. This cake sounds amazing and looks delicious. That glaze sounds amazing.

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  12. Your gram is amazing! 99:)Love the photos of her and her handwritten recipe. This fig cake is fantastic. I can't get enough of figs in my sweets. Your photos are fantastic and that glaze has my head spinning in joy. Thank you for joining us this month with your fabulous bundt, Stacy:)

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  13. I am sure your Gram would love this cake. I especially enjoyed the photos of your family and the story of the fig preserves.Your Bundt pan is particularly pretty and a lovely way to present this special cake. It looks wonderful!

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  14. Isn't that the truth! Gram tells stories of going to school by horse. She lived in a fairly rural community and I guess no one had a car in 1918 or 1919 when she would have started school at six years old. She finally sold her last car when she was 90 and decided on her own that she shouldn't be driving anymore. I wonder if there will ever be another generation who has seen such world changes in their lifetimes. Thanks for your kind words!

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  15. Thank you, Alice! I will pass on your good wishes. She is a lovely lady with a glint in her eye and sense of humor still. I was so pleased to get the recipes and have started scanning them so I can share with all the cousins.

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  16. They are my favorite type of nostalgia too, Jenny. How wonderful that you have copies from your GREAT-grandmother. Family treasures indeed. Thank you for your kind words!

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  17. Thanks for including me, Lora! I fell in love with the glaze too. Remarkable the way it turns sticky and almost clear on the cake. I can see using it for many other cakes in the future!

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  18. I am going to make it for her next time I am home, Holly, and see if she approves of my small modifications, like butter instead of oil. Or maybe I won't confess. :) She's really not supposed to eat sweets because of her diabetes but she loves them and, what the heck, they haven't killed her thus far! My Bundt pan is an old one and kind of mashed on the bottom but I love it too. Thank you for your kind words!

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  19. This looks delicious, and your gram is adorable! I can't believe she's almost 99, craziness! I love fig preserves, so I'll definitely try this cake. Sounds amazing.

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  20. Isn't it just?! Craziness! She is still pretty mobile and when you get her talking, she will tell you some stories! I only wish I lived closer so I could spend more time with her. Gram was always an excellent cook and some of my happiest times were in her kitchen. Let me know if you try it. I'd love to hear how it turns out.

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  21. I adore your gramma. She sounds like such a spitfire. Mine was like that too.


    I also adore this recipe. I mean fig in a bundt, it's outstanding. The recipe is a treasure.

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  22. I adore her too, Kim! She was always a spitfire, just a little less confident in motion now. :) A few years ago she fractured a hip out in the front yard and then crawled back into the house on her knees. I said, "Gram, what were you doing?!" She said, "Jumping the ditch!" And that is why she has a daily nurse now. She does not know her limitations because she always felt capable. I hope to have the same spirit myself when I am her age!

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  23. hooray for grams! they are the best! this was such a great post and such a unique recipe to share - love it!

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  24. They are the best! Thank you for your kind words. :)

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  25. Your grams is too cute! And she obviously knows what she's doing in the kitchen - this cake looks incredible!

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  26. She is a sweetie, Ashley, but also feisty! Such spirit, even at her age. When I question her too long, she shuts me down. "Stacy Monica! Stop asking so many questions!" And we laugh. She was one of the best cooks I have ever know and she has probably forgotten more than I know now.

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  27. OMG ... I love your image of the handwritten recipe & your family pics :-)

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  28. Thank you, Carol! I was so thrilled to get her handwritten recipes last summer.

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  29. I've been lusting after that pan! And I love family recipes like this, thank you for sharing!

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  30. It's such an old one that it is all dented, Laura, but it's still one of my favorites too.

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  31. Have you started working on a cookbook of her recipes yet? I love looking through the old recipes. And, for the record, we should all be so lucky as to be jumping ditches in our 90's!!

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  32. Ain't that the truth, Belinda! She has slowed down a little now and I hope has learned her lesson about jumping over anything, but she still doesn't want to know about limitations. I want to be like that! I have her recipes in a special file but there aren't that many handwritten ones. Just ones she has collected over the years so I assume they are special to her.

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  33. Hi there,


    How do I make the fig preserve?

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  34. The link is in the first paragraph up above, Lindsay. But here you go to save you looking: http://www.foodlustpeoplelove.com/2012/06/grams-fig-preserves.html Or you can use store bought like I did this time.

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  35. Hi Stacy!
    Love this post; meant to comment sooner. I originally saw it when i was perusing the blog for thankgiving ideas (I made the cauliflower pancakes which were a big hit). You inspired me to go visit for her birthday next week (you know that means I have to go to casino...). Will be a quick weekend trip...hope you guys have a great holiday w girls!

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  36. Hi, Simone!


    I got a Facebook message from your mom when Daddy was there recently saying that you were coming down for Gram's birthday and that, of course, a trip to the casino was planned. I am so glad you are going! I am hoping we will all be there for next year's celebration. Please give my love to Gram and the rest of the family.


    Glad you enjoyed the cauliflower pancakes but, for Thanksgiving?! Your family is obviously more flexible than mine.


    Much love to you,
    your favorite cousin : )
    Stacy

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