We bought our house about 10 years ago from the sweetest little old lady. Dorothy, somehow an apt name for her, had raised many kids in this little cape cod home. She was now a widow and ready to move on to a retirement home.

When we went to look at the house, she gave us chocolate chip cookies and a toy football for my son. She also offered us the fresh fig jam she had made from her special fig tree.

Dorothy lived in that house about 50 years. I imagine, judging by the size of the fig tree and its deep roots, she planted it close to when she moved in.

The tree produces a crazy amount of figs in the late summer. So many that our squirrels get fatter and fatter every year. Everyone who visits loves the tree and some even take cuttings to plant their own. Its offshoots are now going strong in North Carolina, Delaware and around Virginia.

Several years after we moved in, we had some people knock on our door. They were a couple of Dorothy’s grandchildren. Sadly, Dorothy had passed away but they wanted to take a few branches from her beloved fig tree for her grave. It’s a pretty special tree and we always think of Dorothy as the tree comes to life every summer with amazing figs.

We mostly pluck the figs when they are ripe and eat them as is after a quick wash. You can add them to salads or serve them with honey and cheese.

They are also great in this tasty and quick Fresh Fig Cake.

Print Fresh Fig Cake Ingredients 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled 2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 12 figs, chopped into slices 2 ounces of chopped walnuts (optional) Method Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt the butter. Set aside (on your kitchen counter) to cool. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a small mixing bowl: eggs, milk and almond extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, along with the melted butter. Mix together with a spatula. Do not overmix. Add the chopped walnuts and most of the figs (reserve a handful of sliced pieces). Mix carefully. Pour the batter into your prepared pan (9 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 3 standard loaf, mix it up with various sizes or make muffins). Sprinkle the remaining figs across the top of the batter. Bake for about 35 minutes (until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean). Notes Recipe for cake base adapted from Fine Cooking magazine. 3.1 http://globalveg.com/2014/08/17/fresh-fig-loaf/ Copyright: Global Veg