Ciao MrHappy, Many of those recipes are very familiar and many aren't and look fantastic!! Thanks, I will make some of the others. I am known far and wide for a yearly cake I make. Torte Fico . It is a six layer Fig cake. There is A basic anise cake made into 6 layers, with chocolate, figs honey and Lemon. It is wonderful. It was a tradition every fall to make it when we gathered bags of Figs, the cake is good, rich, but good. Ciao, Maggie

Italiangirl,

Are we going to get the recipe or were you just teasing us? :>)

Maggie,
I bet you keep the family eating don't you? I gained a pound just reading the ingredients to your cake. My interpretation went something like - a basic yum made into 6 layers with yum, yum yum and yum.
Richard

Ciao,

Dannyboquet, No i'm not trying to tease. The actual measurements are hard to say, we don't really use measuring cups, but you basically make three large round anise cakes, similar to regular round cakes, with vanilla and Anisette. After they cool, cut them in half to make six cakes. You need probably a pot of fresh figs, if you have to you can buy dried, but who wants them. You cook the figs and I would say a generous amount of honey together. In a separate pot you want to steam melt your semi sweet chocolate. Chop up about 3 large Sicilian lemons into quarters. Once the figs and the honey are cooked, you can add some crushed almonds to the figs and honey. apply this mixure of figs to each the first layer then pour the chocolate over the figs. Put the second layer on and repeat all the way to the top of the cake. Pour the leftover figs and chocolate on the top and drizzle down the sides. Add your lemons in a pretty design on the top of the cake, enjoy. This brings family together every year for a seasonal dish, like gnoochi which we eat in October.

Mr. Happy, Yes I love to cook, who cares about putting a pound or two on, you don't want to look too skinny, a little meat never hurt anyone. Food brings people together and this Italian treat is worth the effort!!
Ciao, Maggie

Maggie, Sounds delicious. I've got most of my grandmother's recipes, and they sound just like yours, some of this, a bit of that. Do you actually use Anisette, or Anise flavoring? About how much? (I know a little liquor can go a long way in baking.)
Anise (liquorice flavored) and almond flavorings are used in a lot of Italian baked goods (my grandmother's cookies were to die for), but you don't see them in American pastry. Even the "Italian" bakeries don't carry much - got to make your own (probably better, anyway).

I've said it before and I'll say it again... My favorite way to eat figs is fresh off the tree. To me their flavor is complete as is. The more stuff that is added (especially sweet stuff) seems to compete with, not compliment, the flavor of the fig on my tongue. So I try to keep the flavors simple:

Fig with bacon or prosciutto is a good thing
Fig paired with cheese is also a good thing

With both of these, the fig remains uncooked. Also, it is a salty/sweet pairing. If you are looking for something simple and sweet, however, and the fig and ice cream in the article looked good to you, a simpler way is to: Cut figs in half
Press cut side of fig into brown sugar
Melt butter in a fry pan
Place figs cut side down into the pan
When sugar begins to melt toss the figs occasionally until they soften a bit and the syrup comes together
Spoon figs and syrup over vanilla ice cream
Eat

This works on my taste buds.

~james

bjs496,

Che sera,sera
To each their own. I make this cake special everyyear.We love them off the tree too. As you can see on the original post, there are many ways to eat figs. This is a family recipe and well if you grew up with us you would appreciate it too. Eat them any way you would like.

Fignut, Ciao!!!
We have an italian store here in Altoona and well, We only buy fresh Anise seeds or Anise Oil, I don't care for the anise extract. The seeds I love and the oil goes farther. YOu can also use fennel seeds or extract. Almonds and Anise are a large staple in Italian sweeties. Fresh seeds and oil in Pizzelle as well, I know you know about Pizzelle. I'm sure your nonna's cookies were wonderful, but they taught us like they knew, measurements were nil. As far as how much, a teaspoon of the oil to start, taste the batter until the cake seems the right flavor, the extract will loose flavor in cooking. Nothing is a good substitute for an Italian tongue!!! Did she ( your nonna) ever make the Fig cookies? Those were good dunked in Espresso!! Ciao, Maggie

P.S. fignut

When you buy your Anise plant seeds at the Italian market, you can plant a few in ordinary soil and you can have a few Anise plants where to collect seed from. Anise grows wild in Italy and a few of us here in the U.S. grow it, not only for culinary purposes, but it makes a very attractive bush. Anise plants must be kept very hot and in a very bright sunny location almost all the time, they will die completely at the beginning of a cold spell.
Sometimes however what they sell as anise seed is really our Italian wild fennel, so make sure you grow whichever one you really like. The fennel can grow the same way, they get very large in the sun and heat also.