Dried fruit vs. Fresh fruit?

[stanfordsarah]

hi there,
looking for some advice on a recipe that I am making...it calls for dried figs, but I have only fresh ones. I would really like to use the fresh ones since I have so many that a neighbor brought over to me. I'm making a coffee cake and just wondering if anyone out there has subbed fresh for dried fruit and what the conversion is...thank you!

 

[epliu]

Maybe try roasting the fresh figs first, just to cook out the excess juices. You can slice them in quarters and roast the figs in a low oven, maybe around 120°C, and just keep on checking every 15-20minutes or so, just until they are dried enough. Some of the juices may leak out, if it is really ripe, and it will make the figs even softer, so maybe chill it for a while before putting it in your batter. The heat will also make the figs sweeter.

 

[Jezebella]

I tried but it really didn't work. The end product was sort of gummy and gross. I wasn't using figs though. You don't have a dehydrator do you? I think I would just reduce some of the other moisture in the recipe so it doesn't get too wet. I tried to look up a conversion for you, but I couldn't find one. Good luck!

 

[stanfordsarah]

Thanks for the tips ladies! I should have read your responses first. I didn't reduce the liquid in the "paste"; was supposed to be dried figs and fresh orange juice, so I should have reduced the o.j. I don't have a hydrator, but may look into getting one. The coffee cake came out good, but a little messy when I was trying to roll it up.

 

[Happyflowerlady]

Well, at least it came out tasting good ! If you have a lot of fresh figs, then getting a dehydrator would be a great idea, and you can dry soe for use in recipes when you don't ave the fresh ones , or just when it recommends fresh.
I have only tasted fresh figs once, but it seems to me that they were really tasty, and definitely juicy.