Fig Cake
I’m so excited for figs to be back in season and I can’t wait to make everything with figs again (cakes, salads, pizzas) - everything is delicious with figs and they are able to elevate any meal.
A couple of years ago I found out that wasps go into figs and lay eggs inside, for some reason this really hit me and I couldn’t eat figs for a couple of months as I really am not a fan of wasps. Then, while food shopping at the market I found some delicious looking figs and really felt the urge to try one - it was that familiar taste I had missed so much. Our food comes from nature and it is a reality that we sometimes forget about. Wasps may lay eggs in some figs but the figs produce enzymes which digest the wasps completely so it really doesn’t affect us at all.
That being said I think I ate more figs then ever after that famous market trip. Figs are not only full of minerals including potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and copper but they are also a good source of antioxidant vitamins A and K that help us stay healthy. When shopping for figs try to buy the ones where you see some white droplets come out from the top - this is a sign that they are ready to eat and juicy!
The below fig cake is something I love to make for summer BBQ’s or picnics as it’s refreshing, spongy and I try to substitute as much sugar as possible with the date syrup.
Prep Time: 15 Min
Cooking Time: 40 Min
Ingredients for 22cm baking tray (3/4 people):
Fresh Figs - 10-12
Milk - 250ml
Butter - 80g
Eggs - 3
Cane Sugar - 1 Tbs
2 Tbs Date Syrup
White flour - 250g
Baking Powder - 2 Tbs
How to:
Peel and Half the fresh figs
Preheat the oven to 180C
Place the cut figs on a baking tray (cut side up). Mix the cane sugar and the date syrup together and pour it over the figs.
In a pan heat the milk and the butter together whisking slowly but making sure that no lumps create.
Take a bowl and pour the milk/butter in it and add the eggs. Mix everything together to create a homogenous paste, slowly add the flower and baking powder in as well and mix again.
Your mixture should be smooth and there should be no flour lumps present.
Grease a 22cm baking tray with butter and add your mixture. After this it’s time to place the figs side up in the mixture.
The figs should be inside the mixture but you should be able to see the top part (as you can see in the picture).
You are now ready to bake the cake at 180C for around 40 minutes. Remember to keep checking the cake starting from 30 minutes (poking a knife inside and removing the cake from the oven once the knife comes out clean).
Let your cake rest for at least 15 minutes and serve.
Enjoy