Anyone who tried fresh figs in any Mediterranean country is likely to be a bit disappointed with American figs. I’m not sure why exactly, but they never taste the same. Since I’m a big fig fan, this is not to say I’ve stopped trying. Whenever I see reasonable looking figs, which is not very often, I buy them and hope this time it’s going to be different.
Unfortunately, once I try them, I start thinking about ways to improve their taste. This time was no different – they were ripe, but still were not as luscious and enjoyable to eat on their own, as with the Mediterranean ones.
As I already was in Mediterranean mode, I’ve decided to add the figs to a cake with other Mediterranean ingredients and flavors. So, soon items like orange blossom honey, olive oil, almonds, anise and fennel seeds, found their way into the cake batter.
The result was very pleasing. The cake was aromatic and light, and the baking processes definitely improved the figs’ flavor. I will definitely make this cake again, with figs or with other Mediterranean fruits. I’m sure you will too, once you’ll try it.
Notes:
* As I aimed at rustic texture, I used whole almond meal and spelt flour. If you prefer a more delicate texture, you can use blanched almond meal and substitute the spelt with white flour.
* I find the cake to be sweet enough, but if you prefer a sweeter cake, you can increase the amount of sugar to 1 cup, and/or increase the amount of drizzled honey to ½ cup.
* If fennel and anise seeds are not your favorite flavors, you can use cinnamon instead.
Makes: 15
Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
2 XL eggs
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup sugar
¼ cup honey (preferable orange blossom)
1/3 cup olive oil
½ cup fine semolina
½ cup flour
2/3 cup whole spelt flour
½ cup whole almond meal
1 Tbs baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp anise seeds
For the topping:
½ cup sliced almonds
15 halves small mission figs
For drizzling over the baked cake:
¼ cup honey
1. Preheat the oven to 360F (180C). Line an 8”x11” ((20x 28cm) baking pan with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, applesauce and sugar. Add the honey and olive oil and whisk well. Add semolina, flour, spelt flour, almond meal, baking powder, salt, fennel seeds and anise seeds, and whisk to a fairly thick batter.
3. Pour the batter into the lined pan and scatter the slices almonds over. Arrange the fig halves on top and press them lightly into the batter.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cakes is golden brown and when inserting a toothpick into the center it comes out clean.
5. Let the cake stand in the pan for 5 minutes before drizzling the ¼ cup honey all over. Holding the baking paper, transfer the cake to a rack, to cool to room temperature before cutting.
This is really nice!
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Thank you Franck, I’m glad you liked the recipe. The cake disappeared quite quickly… 🙂
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I can imagine! 😀
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Figs in the med. and parts of Cali. Are pollinized by the FIG WASP….
I lived of them (and some ” Lechem shachor” bread )below Samuel Hanbi for 3 days, could have gone longer…they were that good of a green fig.
I raise some figs now in Florida, waiting for some nice trees to turn 3 years old…look up JH adriatic, Emerald Strawberry, Malta Black, Rdb, Galicia Negra, etc. On the forum section of “figs4fun.com”.
And for your Neshama, please find a tachlif (substatute) for fobbiden foods…there really is a substitute for every non kosher item…
People in the gluten free world manage to make quinoa pizza batter in a blender! And yes it tastes good..so kosher is even easier, and it will honor Hashem and your Andalusian ancestors. ( em Mamleket Istanbuli BTW 😉 ).
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Oh my, Ronit. This sounds devine and I love Figs.
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Thank you Myra, I’m glad you liked the cake. It turned out very tasty and I’ll definitely be making it again. I’m sure it could be even better with Spanish figs. 🙂
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Yum! My favorite combination of flavors. I also find that figs here are not as flavorful. Same with the tomatoes.
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Thank you Carol, I’m glad you too like this combination. All these ingredients go so well together.
I sometimes find good tomatoes in the farm stand, but in general you’re so right. They’re not as good. That’s why many times I prefer cherry tomatoes, at leas they have some flavor! 🙂
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Agreed. I also get tomatoes on the vine. 🍅
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Same here. 🙂
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Oh my goodness, Ronit! My favourite fruit and almonds! Yum!
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Thank you Aletta, I’m glad you liked this wonderful combination too. These ingredients go so well together. Are figs popular in South Africa as they are in the Mediterranean? 🙂
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Yes, it is very popular here too! 😀
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Glad to know. It’s such a great fruit. 🙂
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I love it!
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Oh yes. Another triumph Ronit 😀
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Thank you Philip, I’m glad you liked the cake.
It was a “mix and match” type of baking, but as the ingredients go so well together, it turned out great and all gone by now… 🙂
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I’ve never been a huge fan of figs, but perhaps that is because I’ve only ever tried American figs. The cake does look lovely, though! 🙂
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Thank you Kathryn, I’m glad you liked the cake despite of not being a fig fan. 🙂
I think you’re right, it’s probably because you’ve only tasted American figs. Maybe it’s better in states like California, where the weather is more similar to the Mediterranean, but it’s such a seasonal and perishable fruit, that I never had a chance to try it when I was visiting the West coast.
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Ronit, this is lovely. I have just returned to Ireland from France, having just missed the fig season in Bordeaux by about a month. The trees in the garden of the house in which we were staying were laden with big fig fruits. I would love to try this with some of those figs. Delicious.
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Thank you Conor, I’m very glad you liked the recipe.
What you’ve described is the type of figs I’m talking about. I would love to prepare this cake with them, though I’d probably eat them as is, so not sure they would end up in the cake. 🙂
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Really good recipe!
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Thank you Payel. I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
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Thats a great cake Ronit, love figs and I love simple cakes like this. I much prefer to frosted layer cakes.
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Thank you Suzanne, I’m glad you liked the cake. I too prefer mostly such cakes much better than ones with frosting/cream, especially in the summer, with all the wonderful produce. 🙂
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What a sight for sore eyes Ronit! Love all the ingredients, as I scrolled through the ingredients list, I was getting more and more excited. What great use of spices to enhance this cake. I once made an upside down fig cake, so I might just use your spices you’ve added to yours. I love how the figs are slightly embedded in the overall appearance, so beautiful!
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Thank you Loretta, I’m glad you liked the cake and flavors.
I too love upside down cakes and usually add some spices to either the batter or the fruit layer. I’m sure your cake will be very tasty with such additions. Looking forward to seeing it. 🙂
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seems so delicious!!!!!
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Thank you Khadija, I’m glad you liked the recipe. It was indeed delicious and I will make it again. 🙂
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I am a reader of your blog
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Thank you Khadija. I’m glad you are and I also enjoy following your blog. We women chefs should support each other! 🙂
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totally agree with you dear
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What a lovely combination of ingredients!
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Thank you Annika, I’m glad you liked the recipe. These ingredients really go well together. 🙂
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This looks really good! I’m a fan of fig too and love cakes with almond meal. Seems this is for me!!
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Thank you, I’m glad to hear you liked the cake. If you like figs and almonds, then it definitely has your name on it. 🙂
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I totally agree with you Ronit, American or even Canadian figs have nothing on the Mediterranean figs! I have never baked with figs and this looks delicious!!!😊
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Thank you Marisa, I’m glad to know you also feel this way about local figs!
Baking or roasting figs intensifies their flavor. It’s definitely worth trying. 🙂
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Love fresh figs!!! I usually add them to a tart…would love to try your recipe some time…looks delicious Ronit:))
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Thank you Shy, I’m glad you liked the recipe. The flavors came very well together. I love fig tart as well. Actually, I love anything with figs! 🙂
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This looks very interesting and yummy too!! I have never baked with figs….its time I tried. lovely recipe and pics. Thanks. Khush
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How frustrating not to be able to find tasty figs but fortunate for us you know how to “doctor” them up to make them taste better. Looks delicious Ronit!
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Thank you Judi, I’m glad you liked the recipe. I’m still on the hunt for better figs, but was very happy with how this cake came out, so it makes it easier. 🙂
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So true about the figs…and the tomatoes…and the cheese… Every thing tastes better in the Mediterranean area, Lol. It’s just not fair!
However, this cake… I believe you! Something that looks this good, must be delicious, Ronit! Looks like you had the magic touch to transform those figs into something fabulous!
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Thank you Nancy, I’m glad I’m not alone in my frustrations!
But we have to make the best with what we have, so this cake came to the rescue. The Mediterranean flavors and the roasted figs were very comforting. 🙂
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Amazing 😊👌👌
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Thank you! 🙂
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Yum, looks delicious and I would love to taste, need to try making it someday. I have never used fresh figs for baking. Ashu
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Thank you Ashu, I’m glad you liked the cake. Baking or roasting intensifies the flavor of the figs. Well worth trying! 🙂
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The cake looks delightful. I seldom eat figs (You may be right that the ones in the U.S. generally aren’t as tasty as those in Europe), but I may have to buy some and give this a try 🙂
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Thank you Sheryl, I’m glad you liked the cake. Baking or roasting definitely enhance the figs’ flavor. I hope you’ll find some and enjoy the cake. 🙂
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Looks nice, Ronit. Our figs in Oz are nice, but I’ve got nothing to compare them with. I imagine that cooked in a cake the will be delicious. You’ve pulled the rabbit out of the hat again.
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Thank you Mary, I’m glad you liked the “rabbit”! 🙂
Hopefully Australian figs are better than what we have here, but if you like them that’s all that matters.
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The figs in the cake turned out beautiful! I’m saving this for when figs are in season.
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Thank you Ellie, I’m glad you liked the cake. The baking process definitely made the figs much more enjoyable! 🙂
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looks absolutely divine! I will make it sometime
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Thank you Ish, I’m glad you liked the cake. I was very happy with how it came out. Will definitely make it again. 🙂
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It looks amazing ! Yummy !
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Thank you Swapana, I’m glad you liked the cake. It was very tasty. 🙂
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So beautiful! Figs are so sensually tempting. Thank you!
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Thank you Jill!
I agree figs are very tempting, that’s why I keep buying them even when knowing they’re probably not going to be the best… 🙂
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This cake looks fabulous! Thank you kindly for sharing this beautiful recipe! Best wishes. Koko
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Thank you Koko, it’s my pleasure to share and I’m glad you liked the cake. 🙂
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oooooh, honey and almonds together in a cake sounds heavenly.
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Thank you, I’m very glad you liked the recipe. The combination was indeed very tasty. No doubt I’ll be making this cake again. Maybe with other fruits as well. 🙂
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This looks incredible!
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Thank you Ideen, I’m glad you liked the cake. It was very tasty and disappeared quickly. Time to make a new one! 🙂
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Figs is one of foods that I like. It is very delicious
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Thank you Jennifer. I agree, figs are very delicious. 🙂
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There’s something about almond in baked goods that I just love. It starts when I get that first whiff of something tasty in the oven. Love, love, love. Pairing it with figs sounds delicious, Ronit. What a great idea!
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Thank you John, I’m glad you liked this “mix and match” cake. I too love baked almonds, and here their smell was combined with that of the honey, fennel, anise seeds and roasted figs… Now that I describe it, I want to make it again. 🙂
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I can’t wait to try this!
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Thank you Vicky, I’m glad you liked the cake. It turned out very tasty and I hope you’ll enjoy it too. 🙂
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Looks delectable!
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Thank you Rashmi! 🙂
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See my comment on pollinized figs that somehow showed up by the august 14 replies…looking up the fig wasp will help one to understand why figs taste better in the med.
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This looks gorgeous!
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Thank you! 🙂
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