Honey-Fig-Corn cake

Story: You know how sometimes you see a friend after a long time; only to find out that the conversation doesn't go beyond reciting same old stories from college/highschool.... and then there is the exact opposite experience - sometimes you rediscover a friend and form a strong connection. The kind of connection where you can go on and on for hours and still want to talk some more...I felt that when my cousin Shilpa visited us a couple of weeks ago.

As I reconnect with my blog on a sweet note, I want to share Shilpa's story with her cake recipe that's just as awesome.

An athlete, Shilpa ranked third in her age group in the Standard Chartered Mumbai marathon, she has biked to Ladakh, competed in triathlons and completed her latest marathon run in 4 hrs.

A foodie, an amazing cook, Shilpa believes in working with the best ingredients, learning about new cuisines in a systematic way, and presenting food in a breath taking manner.

An entrepreneur, combining her two passions fitness and food Shilpa has recently launched her first line of tasteful, soulful, and healthful snack bars - On the run 

Oh and she ran her first marathon at 41! Shilpa is re-inventing herself everyday, all the time. Reminds me of my grandma who at 85+ had the enthusiasm of a ten year old and always wanted to learn new things..

Source: Shilpa Phadke - my cousin, always up to something - full of energy, full of life - inspiring!

Time: Preparation 30-40 mins + 40 mins bake time


Ingredients:

• 1 cup corn meal - not the coarse one and not corn flour - the third kind :)
• 1/2 cup regular flour/maida
• 1 stick of butter for the batter + 1/4th stick to put on top
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup of warm water
• 16 ish dried figs
• 3/4 cup of honey
• 3/4 cup sugar
• zest of a lemon or an orange
• 2 eggs
• pinch of salt 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• A cake pan with removable bottom - I used a 10 inch one, an 8 inch would work as well

For the highly recommended ginger infused whipped cream:

• Fresh whipping cream - about 2 cups
• Ginger julienne 6-7 pieces
• 1 tsp sugar 

Recipe:

Soak dried figs in a bowl of warm water and keep aside for about 10-15 minutes. Remove figs from water, get rid of the stem and cut the figs into halves.

Mix corn meal, maida, baking powder and salt with a fork or something.

Melt 1 stick of butter in a bowl, cut the additional 1/4th stick of butter into small pieces.

For the whipped cream, heat half a cup of heavy cream in a pot with 3-4 ginger julienne pieces and bring to a boil. Keep it aside so it comes down to room temperature.

Blend the ricotta cheese with warm water into a smooth paste in a medium to large bowl. Add eggs one by one and blend well but not a lot - you don't need a foamy consistency since this cake is not expected to rise as much. Add butter, honey, sugar and zest and mix well. Add the corn meal/maida mixture and mix well, but don't blend. Cake batter is ready!

Spray some butter on the cake pan and pour half of the cake batter into it. Arrange fig pieces uniformly on the batter. Add the rest of the batter. Then add butter pieces on top.

Bake at 325F for 40 minutes. For a nice golden brown glaze, put the cake under a flame (I used the broil flame) for a few seconds.

Serve warm with a dollop of ginger infused whipped cream.

For ginger infused whipped cream, mix the heavy cream with the half cup that you boiled with ginger and then whip it with a tsp of sugar.