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Figs On The Outer Banks
Posted By: King In Response To: Re: Celebrity & Sun Gold Tomatoes (RACFish)
Date: Friday, 5-16-14, at 12:11 p.m.
I'm trying something new in the yard this year, I got a small Chicago fig tree for about $10 from Home Depot in Kitty Hawk. From what I've read it's a new variety and the tree gets around 10x12 feet. I think I've picked a pretty good spot it's sunny and out of the wind, I'm hoping it works out. They seem to do good further south, here's more about them below.......
Figs On The Outer Banks
Walk the quiet back roads of the villages of Ocracoke or Hatteras and you will see at least one large fig tree in a sunny, wind-protected spot, with an array of oyster or clam shells around its base. Figs grow profusely in this humid, salty air, and there's a legend that once the original owners move from a house, its fig tree will die from mourning. Actually, it's probably being neglected since the shrub needs regular doses of nutrients, be it from the lime leeched from the oyster shells, or perhaps from the leftover pot liquor that used to be thrown on its roots.
Nine varieties of figs are grown on Ocracoke alone, with names like Celeste (also known as Sugar), Blue, Brown Turkey, and Pound, so named for how much it weighs. Wasps and birds have to be shooed away from the ripening fruit, and the fruit is so tender, it doesn't last long once picked. Ladies on the Outer Banks traditionally preserved the harvest of figs as, well, preserves. If you see any jars of Ocracoke fig preserves for sale, get them.
Fig preserves are used to make the famous Ocracoke Fig Cake, a moist nut-filled batter with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice that only gets better after sitting for a day or two, if you can keep the nibblers away. Ladies on Ocracoke have a bit of a competitive spirit, some boasting that their slight variation is better than others. On Hatteras, a spirited version is popular, one that calls for a bit of whiskey in the recipe. Be sure to try this marvelous traditional dessert, either frosted with cream cheese, or served with ice cream, or just by itself.
Ocracoke Island Fig Cake recipe, from the Ocracoke Cookbook.
Ocracoke Island Fig Cake
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fig preserves, chopped
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts)Beat eggs; add sugar and oil. After sifting dry ingredients, add to egg mixture alternately with buttermilk. Add vanilla and fold in figs and nuts.
Pour into greased 13-by-9-inch pan or bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or in a well greased tube pan at 350 degrees just a little longer. If you use a cake tester, it may read sticky if you draw through a fig, so look instead for signs of wet batter.
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Hatteras Fig and Whiskey Cake
Recipe adapted from The Outer Banks Cookbook. Ocracoke may be famous for its fig cake, but folks at Hatteras claim theirs is good, too. The main difference between the two is that the Hatteras version has whiskey in it.
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup fig preserves
1 cup nuts, preferably pecans or walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup whiskey1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar, eggs and oil. Stir in vanilla.
3. Into a small bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and allspice.
4. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to the egg mixture, mixing well.
5. Beat in the fig preserves, nuts and whiskey.
6. Pour batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool on a rack, then remove from pan. Serve warm if desired.
Makes 12 servings.
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