A few weeks ago my Mom sent me photos of a cake she baked on a whim after coming across a recipe online. With figs and walnuts, it looked soooper delicious (and this is coming from me, someone who believes chocolate cake is the only cake worth talking about). Then she visited us and brought some of it with her and ohymgodsogood!!!! The perfect tea cake, moist and light and packed with flavour. I had to make it too and yay, I’m so glad I did!
The original recipe is by Cooking With Alia and like my Mom, I made a less sweet version ((now you know where I get that)) using only brown sugar and omitting the white, plus this one is heavier on the figs and walnuts. The figs are soaked in black tea and on a complete whim, I added some of the soaking liquid to the batter for extra flavour. This also meant I upped the flour a little bit to prevent the cake from sinking or becoming too dense. And then I decided a less sugary version of this brown sugar icing would be so good on top! It sets into a crackly glaze, complementing the spices perfectly. Despite all of this tinkering, this cake blew my mind!
The thing you should know is that this is a really fun cake to make! There’s a lot of nice flavours and everything smells great. It needs a little bit of prep, but still comes together quickly though it takes a while to bake. I chose to make it as a loaf, but you could certainly bake the batter in an 8″ or 9″ round cake tin as well.
The icing on top is optional, the cake is honestly lovely with or without. With all of those warming spices and incredible texture, it needs nothing else. But, if you like a bit more sweetness, then the icing is a good addition. It’s caramel-y and crunchy once it sets. There’s lots of interesting bites from the jammy figs and the toasty walnuts. In fact, it almost tastes Christmassy so this is actually a really great cake to add to your holiday baking list!
I hope you’ll try it soon!
Please read the recipe notes before beginning.
Spiced Fig & Walnut Cake with Brown Sugar Icing
Ingredients
For the cake
- 15 to 18 dried figs
- 1 teabag + 1 cup (250 ml) of freshly boiled water
- 3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (100 gms)
- 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (150 gms)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp clove powder
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 150 gms unsalted butter, at room temp
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark (160 gms, see notes)
- 3 eggs, at room temp (I haven't tried any substitutes)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the icing
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar (50 gms)
- 2 tbsps unsalted butter
- 2 tbsps milk
- 1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted (55 gms)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 C. Line a 9x5 loaf tin with non-stick baking paper, leaving a little overhang for removal. If using regular baking paper, make sure you grease the tin, and then the paper as well.
- First prepare the figs by chopping each one into 6 to 8 small pieces, depending on how chunky you like them. Place the teabag in a deep mug and pour the hot water into it. Let the tea steep for a few minutes, then add the chopped figs to the mug. Cover and set aside.
- Now in a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and spices together. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with a hand mixer until pale and fluffy, then add the vanilla.
- Now add a few spoonfuls of the flour mixture (to prevent the batter from splitting), then add the eggs one at a time, beating after each one.
- Fold in the remaining flour mixture, taking care not to over mix the batter. It is fairly thick at this stage.
- Now stir in the chopped walnuts. Drain the figs through a sieve, placing a bowl underneath to catch the liquid. Add the figs to the batter, along with 1/4 cup of the liquid. Fold again to combine till smooth.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared tin, smoothening the top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. If the top is darkening too fast, cover the tin loosely with foil. Since all ovens vary, start checking for doneness at 45 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift out using the overhang and place on a wire rack. Peel off the sides of the paper. Let the cake cool completely at room temperature.
- To make the icing, combine the sugar, butter and milk in a small saucepan on low heat. Stir till the butter has melted and sugar has completely dissolved. Take it off the heat and stir in the sifted icing sugar, until completely combined. It will seem runny but the icing will thicken in just a few minutes so make it just before you plan to frost the cake.
- Now pour the icing all over the top off the cake, letting it drip down (place a tray underneath). Scoop up all off the icing that falls down and spoon it back over the cake. As it sets, it will harden and turn opaque.
- Slice and serve! The iced cake can be stored at room temperature for 2 days, after which it should be stored in the fridge for about a week. Happy baking!
Notes
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Hello Can you help with the quantity adjustment for 40 small pieces of a sheet cake? Dimension of pan 16 X 13 Thank you!
I made this using a gluten-free flour mix and it turned out excellently. I also didn’t have a loaf tin so I used a flatter, wider tin and it only needed 35 mins to cook.
Yay that’s great ! Always nice to know when recipes can be easily modified 🙂
Could I use honey instead of processed sugar?
I can’t say for sure without trying it. Replacing it entirely will change the texture so you may want to start with swapping half.
Hi, this cake sounds amazing. Have you ever tried making it with fresh figs? My fruit bowl is full and they don’t last very long before starting to rot, so I’m looking for a cake recipe to use them up (not sure where you are based, but it’s the middle of summer here in NZ). TIA
Hi Andrea! Fresh figs might work, I haven’t tried them here but did use them in this recipe and loved how it turned out, let me know how it goes for you 🙂 https://thedessertedgirl.com/2016/02/01/fresh-fig-and-almond-cake/
I also think if you use fresh figs, you’d probably want to skip the soaking and reduce the water a bit too
Instead of soaking the figs in tea, can I soak them in brandy or rum? And can I use figs and dates in this cake?
I haven’t tried it that way but you probably could
150 cups of butter??
150 gms, that’s a typo