More muffins! These fig-almond muffins are perfect for autumn. If you’re looking for a break from all the cinnamon and pumpkin products, try one of these!

Japan- and General Notes: Almond flour/almond meal is generally easier to find to find in the baking section than find enough almonds to make your own. If you grind your own, use about 3/4 cup of almonds.

Figs are an autumn staple. California’s Mission figs are tiny in comparison to Japanese figs: the figs I get are about 30 g (1 oz.) and a Japanese fig can be between 50-135 g (1.75-4.8 oz), so I’ve gone by weight below rather than number of figs.

I’ve decorated the tops of the muffins with slices of figs. If you plan on serving these immediately, it’s a nice touch, but they will discolor slightly after ~24 hours.

Since the recipe uses olive oil and soy milk, the recipe is dairy-free. (If you prefer cow’s milk, feel free to use that.)

Fig-Almond Muffins

Inspired by Baker Street’s “Almond Muffins” and The Joy of Cooking‘s “Muffins” (p. 634-5)

Yield: 12 muffins

Time: ~30 min
Prep: ~10 minutes
Cooking: ~20 minutes

Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
1 egg (tamago, 卵)
½ cup (120 mL) olive oil (orîbu oiru, オリーブオイル)
1 cup (240 mL) soy milk (tônyû, 豆乳)
½ tsp almond extract (âmondo essensu, アーモンドエッセンス)

Dry Ingredients
2 cups (240 g) whole-wheat pastry flour (okashiyô no komugiko,お菓子の小麦粉)
3/4 cup (70 g) almond flour or almond meal (âmondo pôduru, アーモンドポードル)
3 tsp baking powder (bêkingu paudâ, ベーキングパウダー)
¼ cup (50 g) sugar (satô, 砂糖)

~220-255 g (7-8. oz) fresh figs (ichijiku, イチジク, 無花果), chopped into small pieces, skin on (see notes above)

Equipment
Silicon muffin cups (mafin kappu, マフィンカップ) or muffin tins (mafin kata, マフィン型)

Procedure
1. Preheat (yonetsu, 予熱) oven to 400º F (200º C) and grease 12 muffin tin/cups.
2. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Beat wet ingredients together in a small bowl.
4. Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients; beat together with a few quick strokes. Before dry ingredients are completely combined, gently add chopped figs.
5. Divide batter evenly between muffin cups. Top with a slice of fig if desired.
6. Bake for ~20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for about 5 minutes and gently remove from muffin tin or cups. Cook on a rack if not serving immediately.
7. Serve warm or room-temperature. Store in airtight container in refrigerator; good for about 3 days.