Fresh fig and almond cake is an amazingly easy one-bowl dessert made with seasonal figs and served with a dollop of Greek yogurt and poached figs in red wine. It is a decadent summer cake perfect for afternoon tea and any celebration.
If you are a huge fig fan who looks forward to getting figs to make incredibly delicious fig desserts, get ready: they have a short season.
Start with the spiced fig and cinnamon Pavlova topped with fresh figs and pistachios.
Then try fig tart with hazelnut praline paste, and finally make the cutest fig tiramisu - another adorable summer treat.
Fig and almond cake recipe
- This fig and almond cake recipe is a simple and delicious one-bowl recipe.
- The cake is loaded with seasonal figs flavored with star anise and arranged in a beautiful pattern - just the perfect rustic cake.
- It is moist due to almond flour and the fig sauce's warm touch that combines a beautiful red wine aroma and caramel taste.
- The heavenly, delicious fig sauce is a creation of the Israeli-British chef Yotam Ottolenghi.
Ingredients
For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.
- Butter: Use softened unsalted butter (not melted butter) to make the dessert. Take it out of the fridge one to two hours before you start.
- Brown sugar: Use golden brown or dark brown sugar. You can replace it with light brown muscovado or turbinado sugar.
- Honey: Your favorite brand will work perfectly for the recipe. Read more about how to liquify honey if needed.
- Almond flour: Use fine ground Anthony's almond flour or coarse powder of the almond meal to make the cake; they all will yield the same tasteful result. Alternatively, make ground almonds yourself: process natural raw almonds, for example, Marcona almonds, in a food processor.
- Vanilla extract: Use one of the best Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract as the most full-flavored among other vanilla extracts. Or use alcohol-free vanilla flavor instead.
- Ground star anise: Use a store-bought ground star anise or make it yourself. Just grind the whole star anise (both seed and pod) in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Replace ground star anise with ground cinnamon if you prefer.
- Baking powder: Use aluminum-free baking powder. The baking powder loses effectiveness after about half of the year, so use it fresh.
- Fresh figs: The seasonal ripe figs are the best. Use Black Mission figs or combine them with other varieties of figs.
- Red wine: Use your favorite brand of red wine.
- Greek yogurt: Use plain Greek yogurt to accompany the dessert. You can substitute plain Greek yogurt for sour cream or homemade whipped cream while serving the dessert.
- Eggs: Use large eggs at room temperature to make the recipe.
- Flour: The recipe calls for all-purpose flour.
How to make fig and almond cake
Step 1. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch (20 cm) Le Creuset springform pan with parchment paper.
Step 2. To make the cake batter, place butter, honey, and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until smooth (photo 1).
Step 3. Low speed of the mixer and gradually add eggs, mixing the egg mixture until homogeneous.
Step 4. In a separate mixing bowl, weigh and mix almond flour, all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and ground anise.
Step 5. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the almond flour mixture to the batter, mixing until combined. Add vanilla extract and slightly mix (photo 2).
PHOTO 1
PHOTO 2
Step 6. Pour batter into the prepared lined tin and level the top with a spoon or a rubber spatula (photo 3).
Step 7. Cut each fig vertically into four long wedges. Arrange figs on top of the cake, cut sides up, going in concentric circles (photo 4).
Pro tip: Make sure to slightly immerse figs into the almond batter but not to overlap.
PHOTO 3
PHOTO 4
Step 8. Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes. Check the cake's readiness by inserting a toothpick into it: it's done if it comes out clean (photo 5).
Step 9. Remove the cake from the oven, and cool down before removing it from the cake tin. Place on a wire rack, then transfer to a cake stand.
Step 10. To make the fig sauce, place white sugar in a saucepan and heat until the sugar starts to caramelize.
Step 11. Remove the pot from heat, and carefully add red wine (be careful since it might splash).
Step 12. Bring the pan to medium heat again and let the caramel dissolve in the wine. Finally, add fig quarters and toss them around just warming up (photo 6).
PHOTO 5
PHOTO 6
To serve, slice the cake. Spoon a generous dollop of Greek yogurt over or aside from every cake slice and pour the fig sauce on top. Or simply dust the cake with powdered (icing) sugar.
Expert Tips
- Beat the cake batter with an electric mixer or a hand whisk if you do not have a stand mixer.
- Use a regular 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pan instead of a springform pan and precut circle cake pan liners to facilitate the removal of the cake.
- While making the fig sauce, do not use a wooden spoon or spatula. Instead, swirl the saucepan over the stove.
Recipe variations
- Fruits: Replace fresh figs with stone fruit such as plums, peaches, and apricots. Even pears or apples work in this recipe.
- Flavorings: Replace vanilla extract with dark rum, a ¼-1/2 teaspoon of almond extract, lemon, or orange zest.
- Poached figs in red wine: If you don't have time for a red wine fig sauce, dust the cake with icing sugar or finish with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.
- Serving: Substitute plain Greek yogurt for sour cream or homemade whipped cream while serving the dessert.
Storing and freezing
Store fig and almond cake in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Can you freeze it? It is not recommended to freeze this cake.
Recipe FAQ
Don't peel or cook fresh figs before baking: they will bake beautifully in the oven. Just wash figs, dry them, cut them into quarters, or slice them lengthwise into thin pieces.
Fresh figs have dark purple skin that hides a delicious pulp. You do not need to peel the fruit since the outer skin is edible. Do not cook them before baking either: they will bake beautifully in
This recipe has not been tested with dried figs, so use fresh figs to make this delicious seasonal dessert layered with fresh fruit.
Love fruit cakes? Try these next!
- Plum Pavlova
- Fresh fruit cake
- German fruit flan
- Ottolenghi Louise cake
- Or browse all the fruit recipes.
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PrintRecipe card
Fresh Fig And Almond Cake
Fresh fig and almond cake is an amazingly easy one-bowl dessert made with fresh figs and served with a dollop of Greek yogurt and poached figs in red wine. It is a decadent summer cake perfect for afternoon tea and any celebration.
- Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3.5 oz (100 g) butter
- â…” cup + 5 teaspoons (155 g) brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon liquid honey
- ¼ cup (60 g) eggs, room temperature - see note #1
- 1 cup + 2 teaspoons (100 g) almond flour
- 1 cup + 2 teaspoons (130 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground star anise
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 10 fresh figs
For the poached figs:
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons red wine
- 6 fresh figs
For serving:
- 5.3 oz (150 g) Greek yogurt
- powdered (icing) sugar
* If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
**Don't you have the correct baking pan on hand right now? Try this simple Cake Pan Converter!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175 °C). Butter and line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch (20 cm) springform pan with parchment paper.
- To make the cake batter, place softened butter, honey, and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until smooth. Low speed of the mixer and gradually add eggs, mixing until homogeneous.
- In a separate bowl, weigh and mix almond flour, all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and ground anise.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the almond flour mixture to the batter, mixing until combined. Add vanilla extract and slightly mix.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and level the top with a spoon or a rubber spatula.
- Cut each fig vertically into four long wedges. Arrange figs on top of the cake, cut sides up, going in concentric circles. Make sure to slightly immerse figs into the batter but not to overlap.
- Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes. Check the cake's readiness by inserting a toothpick into the cake: it's done if it comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven, and cool down before taking it out of the mold.
- To make the poached figs, place sugar in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar starts to caramelize.
- Remove the pot from heat, and carefully add red wine (be careful since it might splash).
- Bring the pan to medium heat again and let the caramel dissolve in the wine. Add fig quarters and toss them around, just warming up.
- To serve, slice the cake. Spoon a generous dollop of Greek yogurt over or aside from every cake slice and pour the sauce with poached figs on top. Or simply dust the cake with powdered (icing) sugar.
Notes
- 60 g eggs are approximately equal to 1 whole extra-large chicken egg (eggshell removed).
- Beat the cake batter with an electric mixer or a hand whisk if you do not have a stand mixer.
- To make ground star anise, grind the whole star anise (both seed and pod) in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Rr replace ground star anise with ground cinnamon.
- Use a regular can pan and precut circle cake pan liners to facilitate the removal of the cake.
- While making the fig sauce, do not use a spoon or spatula. Instead, just swirl the saucepan over the stove.
- The cake is best eaten on the day it is made. Store leftover cake covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for two days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 429
- Sugar: 42.9 g
- Sodium: 113 mg
- Fat: 17.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 64.3 g
- Fiber: 5.5 g
- Protein: 6.7 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
The figgy sauce recipe was adapted from https://ottolenghi.co.uk/. The cake recipe was originally published on September 01, 2018. It has been updated with new photos, content, and changes to the recipe to make it even better.
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