Fig & Almond Puddings

These puddings come together pretty easily and can be put together and cooked the day before.  I would reheat them for a few minutes before sliding them out of their ramekins to serve.

Fig & Almond Puddings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/3 cup apple juice or cider
• 1/2 cup dried figs, chopped, and 9 dried figs split lengthwise
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 cup cream, whipped

Serves 6
Cook time: 5 minutes

Preheat oven to 400.
Bring apple juice to a boil over medium heat.  Add chopped figs, ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom and let simmer for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add baking soda (mixture should froth) and set aside to cool.  
Meanwhile, beat butter and brown sugar until completely combined (not just mixed together, but completely combined - mixture should be light and fluffy).  Add egg and beat in until well combined.  Whisk together almond flour and all-purpose flour; add flours into egg mixture in three batches - mixture will be stiff.  Add apple juice and fig mixture and thoroughly combine, without overworking the batter.
Grease 6 ramekins with butter.  Add about 1/2 a Tbsp. honey to the bottom of each ramekin - the bottom needs to be covered with the honey.  Add three fig halves to the bottom of each ramekin, on top of the honey; you will want the cut sides facing down - these will be inverted when done so that way the cut side will be facing out when finished.  Divide batter equally among the ramekins (I find an ice cream scoop works best for this).  
Securely cover each ramekin with a piece of foil and tightly tie kitchen twine so the foil stays in place.  Set ramekins in a roasting pan or large casserole dish; add water to come up about halfway on the ramekins.  Bake for 35 minutes.
Remove foil, slide thin knife around the edges of each little pudding to help loosen, invert each ramekin onto a dessert plate and serve with the whipped cream.