fragrant spiced fig muffins with a pecan and brown sugar streusel

A friend and I went to visit a brilliant lady in Berkeley. Miz Agatha, our Berkeley friend, is an engineering student, a dancer, a writer, a master of the sewing machine; organized, thoughtful, and enthusiastic in her life.

We spent the evening in Miz Agatha's co-op's kitchen, a warm wide space with giant fridges, stainless steel tables, a monster Kitchen Aid mixer, and a closet-sized room for washing dishes. Their talented Friday night chef created a Korean soup of grilled onions and sea food (hot oil on the side), with rice noodles accompanying. Bok choi and a big tray of pork falling apart in its own juices rounded the meal out.

What does this have to do with fig muffins? I'm getting there. At breakfast, Miz Agatha slipped back to the kitchen and comes out of with a soft, ripe purple-green fig, sliced in two, and a small dollop of goat's cheese. Have you ever had a fig before? she said. I hadn't.

I bought a flat full the next day, had a platter of cheese and figs as part of dinner, and then made these muffins the next morning.

These muffins are soft, mellow, and richly aromatic. The sweet crunch of the struesel goes well with the ripe figs and moist, fragrant cumb.



Spiced Fig Muffins
Adapted from Alton Brown's Old-School Muffin recipe
3 large fresh figs, diced
1/4 C red wine
1 tsp cinnamon
a few grates nutmeg

wet goods
1/2 C sugar
2 Tb brown sugar
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 C plain yogurt
1/2 C sour cream
1 Tb half n half

dry goods
2 1/2 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
a few grates of fresh nutmeg (this makes a BIG difference. Don't use that nasty stuff in the jar. Please).
a few grates of black peper
a pinch of salt

struesel
1/4 C brown sugar
1/3 C pecans, chopped
1/3 C flour
2 Tb butter, salted
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp of the leftover spiced wine
a few grates of nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.



In a small, shallow dish, pour the wine and spices over the chopped figs. Let sit while you prepare the dough.

Beat the wet ingredients (sugars, eggs, yogurt, sour cream, and half n half) together for two minutes. Dump the dry goods (flour, baking powder and soda, and salt) onto the wet goods and stir until just combined. The batter will be very thick, don't worry.

In a small bowl, make the streusel: mash the sugar, butter, pecans, flour, wine, and spices with a fork until it forms a crumbly topping. If the crumbles are moist and bigger than peas, add more flour to dry it out. If it's too dry, add a little butter.

Fold the soaked figs into the batter. Don't add too much of the wine (you'll thin the batter out) but a little's fine and tasty.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Fill them almost all the way to the top. I know most muffins are a 2/3-of-the-way-up the muffin cup affair, but I think the thickness of this dough means the muffins don't rise as much. Top with the streusel.

Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes. The house will smell of cinnamon.