This Walnut and Fig Loaf Cake is adapted from a recipe in The Triangle News and Observer. It’s a fig cake, but instead of actual figs it gets its flavor and texture from fig preserves. I had about 3/4 of a bottle of fig preserves leftover from another little cooking project, so this recipe seemed perfect.
The Observer Fig Cake is made in a 9×13 inch pan and drizzled with a buttermilk glaze. We didn’t need a full cake, so I halved the recipe, adjusted the bake time and made it in an 8×4 inch loaf pan. It was dense, sweet, rich and had a bold fig flavor. To cut the sweetness, I recommend adding a lot of walnuts. You can’t see that many in the picture here because I was low on walnuts, but I think this cake would be good with a lot of them — or pecans. It’s a sweet and spicy little cake that slices very evenly.
Recipe
Walnut & Fig Loaf Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup 4.5 oz all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons of buttermilk powder or use milk equivalent
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg plus 2 tablespoons lightly beaten egg
- 1/2 cup water or if using buttermilk instead of powder 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup fig preserves
- 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan. Line bottom and narrow sides with a strip of parchment paper and dust the long sides with flour.
- Stir flour, buttermilk powder (if using), sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices together in a mixing bowl.
- In a large measuring cup or another bowll, whisk together oil, eggs, water (or buttermilk), vanilla and fig preserves. Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and stir until smooth, then stir in the walnuts. Pour into the loaf pan and bake at 325 for about 1 hour or until loaf tests done. Let cool in pan for about 20 minutes, then carefully loosen with a knife. Don't remove from pan yet. Let cool completely, then turn from pan.
Anna
Hi Debra,
It’s been a while since I made this and I don’t remember making the glaze. Sounds good, though! If I were to make the glaze I would probably halve it, use the measurements you mentioned. I’m not sure whether or not I’d let the cake cool. I tend to like a more 3 dimensional topping rather than one that sinks in, so unless a cake is kind of dry and needs a warm pour over type glaze, I generally let the cake cool.
Debra Haas
Did you use the original Buttermilk Glaze recipe (halved: 1/2c sugar, 1/2T cornstarch, 1/4t baking soda, 1/4c well-shaken buttermilk, 2T unsalted butter, 1/2T light corn syrup, 1/2t pure vanilla extract)?
I’ve only seen this with the glaze applied while warm – does it work well when cooled?
Anna
I’ve never tried fig butter, but I’ll bet it would work really well.
gracie
I would love to try this recipe as I love the flavor of figs. Trader Joe’s makes a yummy fig butter that I use in grilled cheeese sandwiches when I want a little sweetness. I wonder if I could use the fig butter in place of the fig preseves…any thoughts?
Thanks for the post!
Shirley D
Sounds good, Anna … I just used the last of my fig preserves in the ‘sauce’ for some grilled flank steak. I learned to like/love fresh figs when we lived in Greece — however, when the fresh ones come in here late summer… they are usually too steep in price! I do use dried figs in many things and will remember this loaf next time I pick up a jar of fig preserves……..
CakeSpy
I’m obsessed with figs and the gentle, mellow flavor they impart. This looks like a perfect breakfast loaf. 🙂
T. Martin
Not sure when I will next come across fig preserves but the suggestion in the original recipe to swap out pear for figs sounds promising…
Did you try the buttermilk glaze?
Anna
Good question! And yes. The original one uses 2 cups of flour, etc. etc. I used a very small (8×4 inch) loaf pan.
Jan Harris
Has the recipe as shown above been already cut in half ?