Fig and Almond Cake

Do you like fresh figs? I love sinking my teeth on a very ripe fresh fig. It is juicy, sweet, and delicious. If you are not a big fan of eating fresh figs, maybe a simple fig and almond cake like this one will change your mind. :)

I purposefully use a minimal amount of sugar so as not to overpower the figs. The sweetness should mostly come from the figs.

Fig and almond cake ingredients

All the ingredients to bake this cake are very common. I will separate it into three parts to make it easier to maneuver.

1. Dry ingredients

For the dry ingredients, we will need almond flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

2. Wet ingredients

For the wet ingredients, we will need eggs, melted unsalted butter, maple syrup (or honey), and vanilla extract (or almond extract).

3. Figs

I usually try using either Brown Turkey figs or Black Mission figs for this. I haven’t tried baking this cake with other figs varieties.

Step-by-step to bake the fig cake

1. Preheat oven and prepare cake pan

Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit (190 Celsius). Lightly brush a 9-inch cake pan with butter and coat with almond flour/all-purpose flour. Set aside.

2. Mix dry ingredients

In a mixing bowl, sift together almond flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

3. Prepare cake batter

In a new mixing bowl, whisk eggs, melted unsalted butter, maple syrup (or honey), and vanilla extract (or almond extract). Add almond flour mixture to the bowl, and whisk for about 1 minute or until the batter is just mixed. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.

4. Prepare figs

Remove the stem from each fig, and cut it into half. Arrange figs over cake batter with the cut-side facing up. Optionally, sprinkle the fig with sugar.

5. Bake the cake

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown, and a cake tester comes out clean.

6. Serve the cake

Cool the cake completely before serving.

FAQs

1. I don’t have a 9-inch cake pan, can I use another pan?

You can use a 9-inch pie pan, a 9-inch fluted tart pan, or even a 14x4-inch tart pan.

2. Fresh figs are not in season. Can I use dried figs instead?

Yes, but bake the cake with a 350 Fahrenheit oven instead of a 375 Fahrenheit oven.

3. I want the cake batter to be more festive and full of spice. What can I add?

Try adding the zest of one orange to the cake batter. If you are a fan of cardamom, you can also add about 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom on top of the orange zest.