I consume a lot of figs when they are in season. I get to the farmers market early to make sure I get them – and I have been known to buy them all! One of my favorite uses is Fig, Bourbon and Vanilla Bean Jam, which I give as gifts and get many, many requests for. It is fantastic on a cheese or charcuterie board! So when I set out to make a lovely fig cake, I knew adding vanilla bean and a dose of bourbon would amp up the flavor and highlight the beautifully caramelized figs. The cake is tender and not too sweet, with that extra sweetness coming from the caramelized fig topping (or bottoming?). The buttery syrup melts into the batter and the figs become soft and unctuous. It seems very sophisticated for such a simple recipe.
Buy at least a pint of figs for this – the size of the figs will determine how many you need to cover the bottom. As you can see, in the photos here, my figs were relatively small. You will need fewer if the figs are large. Snip off the stems and cut the figs in half, then arrange attractively over the butter and sugar, filling the pan pretty full. I mostly find brown figs locally – Celeste and Brown Turkey – but this will work with purple figs just as well. Delicious on its own, but a scoop of ice cream would not go amiss – I recently served it with a salted caramel ice cream that was a fantastic combination.
Ingredients
- For the Figs
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 pint of figs
- For the Cake
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or the seeds of one vanilla bean or two teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons bourbon
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cups buttermilk
Directions
- For the Figs
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Very generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan. Really grease that baby – you can use the butter left from the stick you melt. You want the cake to unmold.
- Pour the melted butter into the bottom of the cake pan and swirl to coat. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the butter, pressing it out in a even layer if needed. Remove the stems and cut the figs in half and arrange them cut side down over the brown sugar in an attractive concentric pattern.
- For the Cake
- Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer for a minute to break it up, then add the brown and white sugar and beat on medium high until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla and bourbon to combine. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl. Add the flour, baking powder and salt in three additions, alternately with the buttermilk, beating on low until combined, scraping the bowl and ending with buttermilk. When the dry ingredients are well combined, beat the batter in high for 10 seconds. Dollop large spoonfuls of the batter over the figs in the pan, the spread the batter evenly to fill the pan to the sides. Pick the pan up and drop it back on the counter a few times to distribute the batter. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then place a serving plate over the pan and flip. Leave to sit with the pan still on the cake for a few minutes then lift the pan away. Can be served warm or at room temperature.
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