• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
The Runaway Spoon

The Runaway Spoon

Creative recipes with a Southern slant

  • Home
  • The Runaway Spoon Store
  • Contact Us

Fresh Fig Cake with Buttermilk Glaze

August 19, 2012 by The Runaway Spoon 7 Comments

A friend recently posted on Facebook that she had some figs lying around and was looking for suggestions on how to use them.  Almost all the comments involved wrapping them with bacon, drizzling them with honey, or slicing them on a pizza.  All of which are delicious suggestions, but a little one-note.  But it got me thinking about the many uses of figs.  When I see them for the first time at the farmers market each season, I scoop them up and rush home to make Fig, Bourbon and Vanilla Bean Jam.  I usually make another batch the next week.  I have already done that this year, and the fig conundrum reminded me of a recipe I hadn’t looked at in years.  It is from a very old community cookbook, missing its cover or I’d tell you which one, with handwritten pages that have been mimeographed and bound.  It lists the ingredients, and has the directions “Mash figs, mix together, bake.”

I first used this recipe when I started to see figs on offer around here, but put it away when I moved on to jam.  I will admit, the first fig I ever ate was in Europe.  Other than fig preserves, I had never seen figs in stores here.  They are very delicate and don’t store or ship well, I am told, so for most Southerners, figs were mainly the province of those lucky ones who had a tree growing in the backyard.  That is where I imagine the original recipe came from.  Someone with an overabundance of figs, looking for a way to use them up.  But that has all changed with the advent of active farmers markets.  Figs are readily available and so fresh and delicious; it is a shame not to use them in as many ways possible.  Of course, if you have a fig tree in your yard, give me a call.

I have added an equally old fashioned boiled buttermilk glaze to this cake, to add another rich dimension.  Leave it unglazed and it is a delicious breakfast treat, but I urge you to try this glaze at least once.  It is truly a glaze that soaks into the cake, rather than a frosting and I think it just adds to the old-fashioned charm of this treat.

Fresh Fig Cake with Buttermilk Glaze

1 ¼ pounds fresh figs, to make 2 cups puree

4 eggs

2/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

For the Glaze:

¼ cup buttermilk

¼ cup butter

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon vanilla

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Grease a Bundt or tube pan well. (I like to use a baking spray like Baker’s Joy).

Snip the stems off the figs and place them in the bowl of a food processor.  Process the figs to a chunky puree.  Do not blend until smooth, you want some small chunks of fig in the mix.  You should end up with 2 cups of puree.  If you don’t have a food processor, use two forks and some elbow grease and mash the figs up well.

Whisk the eggs in a small bowl to break up the yolks, then add the oil, sugar and vanilla and blend until smooth.  Add the flour, baking soda and cinnamon, switch to a sturdy spatula and mix everything together.  Add the figs and fold until thoroughly combined and no traces of flour are showing.  Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 40 – 50 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  About half way through the baking time, loosely cover the pan with foil.

Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around the sides to loosen the edges.  Turn the cake out onto a wire rack placed over paper to catch drips (you can use the foil you covered the pan with).  Leave to cool for 10 minutes while you make the glaze.  Glaze the cake while it is still warm, but not piping hot.

For the glaze:

Place the buttermilk, butter, sugar, corn syrup and baking soda in saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. It will be white and fluffy.  Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and immediately brush the glaze over the cake with a pastry brush, covering the top and the sides.  The glaze will sink into the cake, it doesn’t harden like a frosting or a powdered sugar glaze.  If the glaze begins to separate and thin out, return it to the heat until it is fluffy again, then continue brushing.  Give the cake a good two layers of glaze, but you may have some leftover, which is fine.

Cool the cake completely and serve in big slices.  Cover tightly and store for up to a day.

Serve 10 – 12

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Farmers Market, Fruit, Fruit and Vegetables, Southern Specialties, Sweets Tagged With: buttermilk, cake, farmers market, Figs, Southern specialites, Sweets

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. rebecca says

    August 19, 2012 at 7:14 pm

    simply adore this cake great recipe for fresh figs

  2. Carroll says

    August 20, 2012 at 10:31 am

    We have friends coming to visit for Labor Day weekend. Now I know what to make for breakfast! This sounds so much zippier than the traditional banana bread.

  3. Shirley H. says

    August 21, 2012 at 5:20 am

    I’m hosting Book Club at my home in September, this will be a perfect dessert to serve with coffee to the group.
    Hope I can find the fresh figs.

  4. Jackie says

    October 5, 2012 at 5:47 pm

    My parents fig tree is three years old this fall and there are too many to eat out of hand and we can’t make the preserves fast enough! This sounds delicious for Sunday morning. Thanks!

  5. Sandra says

    August 28, 2013 at 7:47 am

    I made this cake last night and have to say it had the best taste ever. The cinnamon did not overwhelm like other recipes I’ve tried. It was just enough. I did have to cook it for an hour instead of the recommended times. And next time I’ll bake it in a 9×12 because mine stuck to the bottom and would not come out of the bundt pan! I’ll just have to adjust the time again.

  6. Emily says

    February 21, 2016 at 10:01 am

    The fam made it last night while I was at work as i had it pinned for a while- dgt reduced the sugar content by 25% as well as omitted the glaze. It was wondrously decadent and a great way to end an evening! It’s very much similar to a fig bread that I had once but w/ bourbon in it. But that will be for the next round of fig bread as I know the recipe is a keeper- have a deep freezer filled with these wonderful gems. 🙂

  7. Emily says

    February 21, 2016 at 10:19 am

    Or was it with rum?? Either way, we’ll have good eats in our kitchen! 😉

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

More from The Runaway Spoon

  • Fruit and Vegetables
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Farmers Market
  • Snacks And Starters
  • Southern Specialties
  • Breakfast And Brunch
  • Sweets
  • Meat Poultry Seafood
  • Holiday Cooking

More to See

Ricotta Balls in Tomato Sauce

March 12, 2023 By TheRunawaySpoon

Ultimate Pecan Brownies

March 5, 2023 By TheRunawaySpoon

Footer

I'm P.C. I think I am like most people. Somewhere in the middle between food snob and food schlub. Just being in the kitchen makes me happy. I live, mostly in my kitchen, in my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.

Search

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Menu

  • Home
  • The Runaway Spoon Store
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2023 The Runaway Spoon