Taking motivation from Ottolenghi’s fig cake recipe, this simple dessert makes the most of in-season figs. rich tender figs sinking into the beautifully browned top as well as soft buttery centre of this tasty cake.

Figs are one of the most tasty fruits. The only thing much better than a fresh fig, is one stolen from the tree that grew in my zia’s (Italian auntie’s) garden when I was little.

The trees would be covered in nets to secure them from the birds above, however they were no match for bit fingers reaching up from underneath.

This cake likewise reminds me of Italian apple cakes that my other auntie would make in wintertime. So if figs aren’t in season, you might try this with apples or stone fruit like plums or apricots.

The original Ottolenghi recipe utilizes star Anise powder instead of Allspice which is likewise delicious. If you have additional figs, these can be cooked into a sugar syrup as well as spooned over the cake for a genuinely decadent dessert.

How to Make a Fig as well as Yoghurt Cake

Here’s what you need:

– 200g unsalted butter – chopped– 200g caster sugar, plus 1 tsp extra– 3 big free-range eggs– Scraped seeds of ½ vanilla pod or ½ tsp vanilla paste– 1 tsp Orange blossom Water*– 180g almond meal– 100g ordinary flour– ½ tsp salt– 1 tsp ground Allspice– 100g Greek yoghurt– 8-12 figs– Greek yoghurt to serve

* Orange blossom Water is an component that may be a bit harder to find, so you can make the cake without it. If you can discover it, this essence adds a charming floral note to the completed cake.

Fig & Yoghurt Cake – here’s what you do:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200ºC. Line the bottom as well as sides of a 20-24cm springform cake tin with baking paper.

2. beat the butter as well as sugar together with an electric mixer up until they turn light as well as pale. This takes a few minutes as well as is much easier if your butter is at space temperature.

3. beat the eggs lightly, as well as add the vanilla as well as orange blossom water. add the egg blend in little parts, slowly, into the butter as well as sugar. wait on it to integrate before adding in a lot more egg. keep going up until all the egg is mixed in.

4. mix all the dry components together – the almond meal, flour, salt, as well as allspice. Fold them carefully into the batter. mix up until the batter is smooth, then fold in the yogurt.

5. pour the batter into your cake tin as well as smooth the top with a spatula or spoon. cut each fig in half as well as set up in circles on top of the cake, just somewhat immersed in the batter.

6. Bake for 15 minutes, then minimize the temperature to 170ºC as well as continue baking up until it sets – about 40-45 minutes longer. utilize a toothpick or skewer to inspect if the cake is done. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready.

7. enable the cake to awesome as well as sprinkle a teaspoon of caster sugar over the surface of the figs. serve with some additional Greek yoghurt.

This cake keeps surprisingly well for a few days in an airtight container however we haven’t been able to keep it around for longer than that.

We’ve considering that likewise cooked this in a long, shallow flan tray to make a smaller teacake slice which is fantastic for lunchboxes.

The huge test was when we brought it over for lunch at our Italian auntie as well as uncle’s home – they requested a second slice so we think about this the greatest indication of success.

Check out a few of our other tasty recipes here:

For one more traditional Italian recipe, my household recipe for gnocchi

Jim’s recipe for taralli, a terrific crunchy snack from Puglia in southern Italy

My amazingly simple as well as prominent recipe for lemon meringue semifreddo

Jim’s more-addictive-than-smack roast potatoes

Our neighbour’s extraordinary recipe for rocky road