After tiring out my 10 month old puppy echo at the dog park, I head over to my favorite weekend spot, Industry City in Brooklyn, New York. I make my normal routine of walking through all the buildings being sure to stop at each one. I pick up goods like frozen udon noodles and shrimp chips from Sunrise mart, classic Japanese market, to ciabatta bread and lamb dolmas from sahadis, a middle eastern grocery store famous for their spices, to eat for lunch that day. Afterwards, I make my rounds checking out all the delicious food that is being cooked. From smelling the tonkotsu broth boil away and listening to the takoyaki sear I get hungry as per usual. Groceries in hand, I head over to Building 5 to meet Ayaka, an amazing woman making some incredible desserts on the second floor. From her yuzu lemon loaf cake to her chestnut hoji-cha madeleines, her desserts and creativity never fails to amaze me.

Right now, my favorite treat of hers is her walnut, fig, ricotta & maple scone. Her slightly dense – well spiced scone is dotted with hunks of dried figs and toasted walnuts. It’s topped with a maple syrup glaze along with a generous pinch of dried flowers and toasted walnuts for good measure. Not only are they beautiful, they taste amazing too. I don’t know where she gets her figs but wow oh wow are they delicious. They’re sweet and jammy from being dried and she adds nice big pieces so you can really feel the chew of the fresh fruit.

The sweetness of the figs get balanced out by the nuttiness of the walnuts. Together the flavors make the perfect combination and I had to share her store with you guys so that you can try all her treats and drinks. I created a replica of her scones for those of you who don’t live in New York but if you have some time over the weekend, head over to give her a visit at her bakery Tadaima. Try a dessert, grab a drink. Everything is great, you can’t go wrong.

Fig & Walnut Scones

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• ¼ cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon of ginger powder
• ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 stick of butter, cut into 8 tablespoons
• ½ cup of dried figs
• ½ cup of toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup of ricotta
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoons of milk
• ¼ cup of sugar, optional
• 1 egg for an egg wash or tablespoon of heavy cream (either one is good!)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, ginger powder, & cinnamon powder. Give it a good mix to evenly disperse the ingredients.
3. Add in the butter and using a pastry blender or your finger, cut the butter into the dough. You are looking for a wet sand kind of texture. You should be able to squeeze a fistful of the flour and have it hold its shape. Toss in the dried figs and toasted walnuts and mix into the dry ingredients.
4. Next, make a well in the center of the flour and add in the eggs, ricotta, and milk. Give the wet ingredients a mix to combine. Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet.
5. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a square about 1.5 inches high. Using a 3 inch cookie cutter stamp out circles. Using flour as need to make sure nothing sticks. Re-roll out any scraps to stamp out another couple of scones.
6. Optional: Roll the edges of the scones in some sugar for a nice crunchy outer crust.
7. Place all the scones on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Leave 1 inch of space between each scone. Brush the tops of each scone with some egg wash or heavy cream. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes.

Maple Glaze

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of confectioners sugar
• ¼ cup of maple syrup
• Splash of water, use as needed
• Dried figs, roses, & star anise for decoration, optional

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, combine the sugar and maple syrup. Give it a good mix, making sure there are no lumps. If the consistency is too thick add in a small splash of water. Mix again until the water has been absorbed.
2. Spoon on the maple glaze in the center of the scone letting the glaze drip off the edge a bit. Top each scone with a dried fig, roses, & star anise before the glaze sets. Enjoy!!

Dried Figs

Ingredients:

• 10 brown figs, ripe

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 – 200 degrees or however low your oven goes. The lower the temp, the longer the drying temperature.
2. Cut the figs in half and place them onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Place them in the oven for about 4 – 6 hours. You want the seeds to dry out and become jammy and intensify in flavor.
4. Let cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.