Raspberry and Fig Cake

A few weeks ago, I bought some dried figs for a recipe I wanted to try. 

I should probably have learned by now that if a recipe only calls for four figs, you can probably leave them out. But, of course, I haven't-- so I have been searching for new fig recipes lately.

Last week I stumbled upon a recipe for a "Raspberry-and-Fig Cake" in this month's Food&Wine. The recipe called for fresh figs, but I used dried and soaked ones, since I had them.  I am not so sure I am a fan of figs in my cake --- but man, those raspberries and the hint of lime were good!

So, I give you:

Raspberry and Fig Cake

or just, Raspberry Lime Cake

The main purpose of this picture is to show you the pretty sunlight that now comes into my kitchen at 5:00 pm! Maybe winter really will end.

Ingredients

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs (on the small side, the original recipe that I halved called for 3 -- but you can fudge with eggs some in baking)

1/4 cup butter, melted

zest of one lime

juice of half a lime (if you are a really big fan of lime, you can use the whole one-- half had a pleasant lime taste, but I'm sure more wouldn't hurt!)
3/4 cup flour

about 1/2 cup raspberries.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 4 6-inch diameter tart pans (the kind with the removable sides! If you double the recipe, it will fit into a 9-inch springform pan)         
2. Beat eggs and sugar at high speed with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in butter and zest until combined. This step gives the cake an incredible texture! Light, fluffy, and buttery all at the same time.                                 
3. At low speed, alternately beat in flour and lime juice until just mixed. Fold batter gently with rubber scraper to ensure it is well mixed.

4. Pour batter into prepared pans. Sprinkle raspberries, and figs if desired, on top, and press down lightly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. You can insert a toothpick into the center to see if they are done, but be careful not to collapse the tops. If you are baking a larger cake, it will take an hour to an hour and 15 minutes.

The original recipe called for using breadcrumbs to dust the pans. Flour worked just fine :-p.

Serve dusted with powdered sugar and lime zest. Cakes can be made a day ahead of time, but get a little soggy after two days. They still taste great, but don't look as pretty.