When I think of figs, I think of Teva-wearing hippies in Berkeley sitting in trees eating dried figs from the bulk bins of the co-op. And that’s cool. Real cool. I love the restaurants in Berkeley and the food co-ops are even better. Anyone else having a co-dependent relationship with the daily pizza menu at The Cheese Board Collective? No? Just me? Ok. Sometimes figs make me think of the ritzy San Francisco restaurants that serve them all alone on a plate and fawn over each fruit like it belongs to the royal family.
But really, y’all, figs are a low-country Texas thing. They are not hifalutin like they have been made out to be recently. The Spanish brought the root stalks with them to Texas during their missionary efforts. Fig trees can be grown generally anywhere in the state with proper care.
This cake uses whole dried Mission figs. Make sure they are moist and plump, not dry and leathery. You can use any variety of honey you like for the honey-laced cream cheese frosting. My favorites lately are orange blossom and buckwheat honey.
Fig Cake
This delicious fig cake is about to become your new favorite!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperaturee
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup no-sugar-added applesauce
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon orange zest
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 5 whole dried Mission figs, chopped
For the frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 ½ tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon (heaping) orange blossom honey
Instructions
- Grease a 6-inch round cake pan with oil or shortening. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, beat together with an electric mixer the butter, brown sugar and apple sauce. Add the canola oil, vanilla and orange zest and continue beating until very well combined. Add the egg and beat til combined.
- In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Add the chopped figs to this mixture and stir to coat them with flour. Pour half of this mixture over the wet ingredients and fold it in with a spatula. Add the remaining flour mixture and fold it in until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake 24-28 minutes, until a skewer inserted the center comes clean, but do not overbake the cake or it will dry out. Let cool on a wire rack, then tip it out of the cake pan and let it cool completely.
- In a small bowl, beat together all frosting ingredients until smooth and creamy. Add more honey to taste, if you like.
- Frost the cake and garnish with extra dried figs.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 431Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 163mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 1gSugar: 40gProtein: 4g
Feast on the Cheap says
What a pretty cake! I am definitely making this, I'm a total fig-aphile
Allie says
I love crunching on the seeds in figs, so fun and tasty. Fig cake sounds so unique and tasty! The only figs I ever get here are dried. But I'm thinking they would definitely get moist and delish in this cake!!
Bonnie Banters says
'Figs" drew me into this post. I loved the info on how the fig is built up to be so royal. (I wasn't aware they were indigenous to Texas. Apparently Texas does own everything...including figs!) Reminds me of how some pretentious restaurants make me laugh. Don't get me wrong, I love to dine, really dine and appreciate truly good food well presented in a nice atmosphere. But when a waiter does an unbelievable sales pitch on an item on the menu and when served, you find yourself staring at it, like "this is what he was describing?", you literally feel like you just ate his words.
This cake sounds utterly satisfying and delicious! Thanks!
megan @ whatmegansmaking says
I'm not sure how I feel about figs, but that frosting sounds amazing!!
Christine (The Raw Project) says
This sounds amazing, I adore figs!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
Honey and figs are the perfect pairing. I'm always so jealous of those people that have fig trees in their backyards, I would love my own fig tree!
Erica Lea says
Thank you for your super-sweet comment on my blog, Christina! This cake looks scrumptious - yay for cream cheese frosting!
Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out says
I don't know how I have missed out on this recipe before. I LOVE figs. Boyfriend isn't so sure. I'm ok with that, because then if I made this cake, I could eat the whole thing by myself... =)
Marie says
Amazing recipe is a little different than the one we usually make at home but really delicious result. I shared it with all my friends, thanks for the recipe!
Joni says
Hi! This cake sounds amazing!!
how can I substitute fresh figs for the dried though?! It’s fresh fig season here in Southeast Louisiana and I have the figs ready!!
Thanks!, Joni