Honey, Almonds, Dried Figs, Dried Apricots, and Two Colors of Raisins

The timer is on its final 10 minutes. I've peaked at the baking, and I think it will be done at the projected time.

Wouldn't it be great to stick to the rule of dessert only once a week? It's unlikely. I've already had an oatmeal raisin cookie today (from Little Ray's Bakery, all natural). After dinner I had a craving for something sweet, but not sugary, yet not one of the deliciously perfect gala apples of which I still have two. I wanted something like the baked honey-date-butter-phyllo creation I made that one time a few years back. I didn't want anything that was only at its best while still freshly made, like a scone.

Using a coffee cake recipe as a guideline, I came up with this:

Batter
 1/3 Cup light brown sugar (tightly packed)
2 Tbl butter, cold
1/3 C oil (Canola, because that's what I had on hand)
1 egg
1/2 C plain yogurt (Greek style, in this case)

1 C All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
pinch of salt
pinch of ground Cloves
1/4 tsp ground Ginger (lackluster stuff)
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Fruit & Nut filling
Chopped dried figs, golden raisins, and Thompson raisins simmered in 1/4 of black tea with a cinnamon stick
Chopped dried Apricots
Whole dry roasted, unsalted Almonds
About 1/3 C (a little more than) Honey. (Mesquite honey from Trader Joe's, in this case.)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients and set aside.
3. Cut the butter into very small cubes and cream into the brown sugar with the oil. I did this by hand.
4. Mix in the egg. Don't overwork it.
5. Mix in the yogurt.
6. Fold in the dry mix, adding a third of the dry at a time while you blend it with the wet.
7. Prepare the baking dish. I used an 8" cake round lined with a circle of parchment.
8. Spoon half of the batter into the pan. It will not cover the bottom layer.
9. Drizzle on half the honey.
10. Spoon on the soaked fruit (no extra liquid)
11. Drizzle on the remaining honey.
12. Layer the apricots and almonds.
13. Top with the remaining batter. Using a rubber spatula, shaped the sides so that you have a dome of unbaked goodness.
14. Bake for 35 minutes. Allow to cool enough to remove from the pan, but serve warm.

I love tea and fruit together, poaching fruit with tea or, as in this case, softening hard, dried fruit to make a soft filling. Black tea adds a subtle flavor. I just used a tea bag that had already been steeped once for a cuppa.

Yogurt is awesome in places where sweet recipes usually ask for heavy cream or sour cream. It's a good way to use yogurt that you don't want to eat, because you have too much of it, or it's been open for a while, or it just crossed the expiry date. (Look at me, using non-American words. Snark not.) Yogurt is less expensive than sour cream and far less expensive than heavy cream. I find it works well in scones, waffles, and coffee cakes (anything levened with baking soda).

Most batter cake recipes that I have made that call for butter work just as well with oil. I like to put a couple of tablespoons of butter to get some of butters oomph. Mixing fats creates all kinds of rewarding results in flavor and texture. Roll out biscuits and cookies have to be made with solid fat, and if it calls for shortening, don't think you can get away with butter. If you make a biscuit recipe with oil, you get a fluffy scone or bannock. Make it savory with cheese, herbs, and olive oil and you have a good thing.