Christmas is a perfect opportunity to pamper the ones we love, and one of the best ways to do it is to show our affection by preparing delicious dishes, desserts and cakes. The best thing about them is sharing these plates, still steaming, with a nice cup of hot chocolate while telling stories :-) Doesn't it sound good?

Today we bring you a dried fig and date pudding which will make everyone fall in love with your cooking and crown you as the most luxurious host :-) You can also prepare it as a gift or take it to a Christmas dinner to share it along with nougat, panettone and all the delicacies that we crave so much after dinner. Below we explain what we will need for the dried fig pudding and the steps to follow for its preparation. It's very easy.

Ingredients for 8 people

• 100 g brown sugar 

• 200 g butter 

• 4 eggs

• 75 g pitted dates

• 75gr raisins

• 75 g dried figs

• Grated zest of one orange 

Preparation

Before mixing the ingredients, the first thing to do is to preheat the oven at 180ºC.

Let's begin. First, beat the butter and the sugar together. Then add the egg yolks one by one, then the dried figs, the raisins, the pitted dates and the orange zest. Next add the flour and stir so that everything comes together well. Afterwards, beat the four egg whites until stiff. Finally, pour the mixture into a pudding mold and bake it for approximately 50 minutes. 

If you want to give it a special touch, dip a cloth in cognac or rum and then wrap it around the pudding. Then cover everything in aluminum foil and keep it for up to two weeks in a dry and dark place.

Enjoy!

The Pajarero figs variety are a kind of pear shaped fruit, with a red pulp full of edible seeds that have an unmistakable sweet flavor and a particular texture that make it a truly remarkable food. The singularity of these dried figs make it a very anticipated food, since its production is very seasonal, we can only enjoy figs for three months of the year. All fig varieties are  high in fiber, mineral, carbohydrates and vitamins which makes them an excellent supplement for a healthy, balanced diet.

Is using figs in the kitchen a novelty?

The particular flavor of dried figs El Pajarero make them the perfect fruit. But besides eating them as they are, figs are the ideal ingredient for a plethora of culinary concoctions due to their versatility. Ancient civilizations appreciated figs for their unmistakable flavor  and used them as a key ingredient to elaborate a number of dishes. One of the most particular ones was using figs as a substitute for coffee, toasting and grinding them until they became dust that would be brewed like coffee.

Diverse uses of figs, unique and astounding dishes.

In general, it is believed that the most common use for figs is in desserts. However the truth is that more and more chefs are using them with meat, such as pork, cow and many kinds of birds combining the earthy flavor of meat with the sweet, natural flavor of dried figs. 

Recently we visited Toni's kitchen, located in Sant Vicenç dels Horts, a restaurant that serves homemade food elaborated with fresh, local produce. Toni surprised us with his amazing culinary creations. We have been able to delight ourselves with two meals and two desserts which were finger licking delicious. The first one was a fresh salad with goat's cheese and dried figs in syrup. Afterwards, chicken Oporto with dried figs in syrup, sweetened with stevia.

But as we well know, figs are also used to create delicious desserts and Toni had prepared not one, but two. One of them was cottage cheese with honey and dried figs in syrup and the other was natural yogurt with figs and wildberry marmalade. The taste of the figs allows for culinary masterpieces for the palate. It was truly a pleasant experience for all senses. If you want to try delighting yourself with exclusive meals, you will most likely love Toni's kitchen!