This Fig, Almond, Olive Oil Cake is a balance of sweetness and earthiness from the figs and the olive oil. The texture moist, dense, yet sightly crumbly due to the almond meal that also adds a bit of nuttiness to the mix, and the figs like marmalade melting in your mouth.
My mother would eat figs like they were going out of style, with a voracity and a pleasure, comparable only to her love for cherries. This morning I talked to her and she told me that my brother's girlfriend brought back a basket full of figs from an orchard they have in the country. She could just devour a handful, sweet and juicy jewels, before my father had his hands on them and used them to make three jars of fig jam. My mom loves figs as my dad loves making jam.
My mother's absolute favorite way to eat figs is with pizza bianca al taglio (pizza al taglio, by the slice, the Roman-style pizza baked in large rectangular trays), cut open in the middle and stuffed with figs, or on top of a slice of rustic bread, mashing them a little with the fork, so they stick on the bread and don't fall off when she bites into it. It is a joy to watch, and although I inherited from her my love for figs, I prefer to eat them right from the plant, or when that is not possible, on a pizza, but cooked and mixed with other ingredients, or in my dad's jam, or use them in cakes. Like this simple, super moist cake, where fig and orange share the stage with almond meal and olive oil to create a symphony of flavors hard to describe in words, especially if you have your mouth full.
Fig almond olive oil cake with a hint of orange flavor? You don't want to know how marvelous it is.
Or maybe you do want to know. You might know, by now, if you follow the blog and the stories and memories we share on each post, that these are my kind of cakes. I mostly bake loaves, bundts, cakes that have in common few excellent ingredients: olive oil, yogurt or coconut oil, seasonal fruits, natural sugars, citrus flavors, nuts in some kind of form. In this cake, which is a remake of the Cherry, Almond, and Olive Oil Cake of some time ago, I used figs, orange juice and zest, almond meal, extra virgin olive oil and Greek yogurt, together with eggs, light brown sugar, all-purpose flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. This is me, baking things I like to eat and share with the people around me. Every time I see a baked good that I think I might like, I scroll down to the recipe and if I don't like the ingredients, I don't make it, even if it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
It was very satisfying to make this Fig, Almond, Olive oil Cake, and more of a satisfaction to slice it and indulge in the moistness, the texture, the flavors. A balance of sweetness and earthiness of the olive oil. The texture moist yet sightly crumbly due to the almond meal that also adds a bit of nuttiness to the mix, and the figs like marmalade melting in your mouth and crunching under your teeth as the seeds dissipate and release that most unique flavor. This cake would be so good with a great cup of coffee or nicely brewed tea. We had it as a dessert after dinner, and in the morning for breakfast, equally a pleasurable experience.
Most people are weary of using olive oil in sweet recipes, and figs are still one of those under appreciated fruits. This recipe may steer you to change your mind about these ingredients, and the combination of the two is brilliant together. Give it a try you may be surprised!
Song of the day: Bedouin Soundclash, "When The Night Feels My Song".
PrintFig, Almond, Olive Oil Cake
Recipe adapted from our beautiful and delicious Cherry, Almond, and Olive Oil Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 eggs
- ½ orange (zest and juice)
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup almond meal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 fresh figs, quartered
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In the bowl of a stand in mixer, whisk the yogurt, olive oil, eggs, orange zest and juice until well blended.
- Add the sugar, flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
- Spray a 9" pan with olive oil or use a non-stick one. Press lightly the quartered figs decoratively into the batter, cut-side up.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a wood skewer comes out clean.
- Let cool on a rack.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 10-12 servings
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I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Diane Galambos says
Had some fig bruschetta yesterday. Heading out to the market and now that I have seen this recipe also using figs, will be getting enough to add this to my bliss in the kitchen day! Looks amazing! Diane (FBC-er)
Thanks Diane, you won't be disappointed. It is really a delicious cake!
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy says
This looks delicious. I make an olive oil cake recently and totally loved it. This is my kind of dessert. Heck I would eat it for breakfast.
Thank you Gloria, my kind of desserts too. But we ate also for breakfast ????.
Laura says
I love this type of cake, simple and elegant. I think I would love this flavour combination! It is a perfect cake for tea!
Thanks so much Laura! It has a rustic charm, and the flavors are amazing together.
Julia says
Everything just always looks so beautiful. I already know this cake is delicious, I just know it! Funny how your mom likes to eat the figs and you dad wants to make jam. I have never made fig jam. Bet it is great. Have a great weekend.
You're so nice Julia! It is indeed delicious. My dad is a jam fanatic, he would make jams out of everything and they're all so good! He already prepared few jars for me to bring back to Canada: blackberry, fig, apple, and small wild little plums I don't know the English name ????.
Meaghan says
This cake looks divine, absolutely scrumptious!! You're Mom sounds like a very wise woman, pizza bianca al taglio... I mean wow I need to travel to Rome right away to hunt this down. Thanks for sharing your memories with us. A beautiful post as always! Have a lovely weekend 🙂
Thanks so much Meaghan! My mom has a very good taste ????. Anyway, I might be partial, but in Rome they make the most amazing pizza, al taglio and al piatto (the round one). Have a beautiful weekend, maybe one Saturday we might meet, we're both in Edmonton!
Colleen says
This cake looks and sounds absolutely wonderful. I love olive oil cakes, and I just brought home some lovely figs. Thanks for this delicious inspiration.
Thanks Colleen, hope you make it and let me know. Glad to hear there are fig and olive oil cake lovers out there ????.
Joyce says
Always fascinated by olive oil cake - this recipe sounds delicious!
Thank you Joyce, olive oil cakes have always been the norm for me since I grew up in a family where butter was considered very bad for you and for this reason it was never bought ????.
Sean says
I'm definitely already on board with both olive oil in cakes and figs on... everything... so this sounds amazing. Very curious about the yogurt in there too! I haven't tried a yogurt-based cake yet, but I've been meaning too. Maybe I'll have to go buy some figs!!
Hi Sean, I have many recipes for baked goods like muffins, loaves, bundts, where I use yogurt, it is so good for moistness when you don't use butter. Try it, you might love it. Thanks for the comment, this cake was a hit!
Demeter | Beaming Baker says
Yet again, I was *this* close to missing another one of your amazing baked goods, Nicoletta. Thank goodness I didn't! 🙂 I was just thinking about how nice it would be to have an olive oil cake right now... and poof, it's like you answered my dreams. 🙂 Something about figs remind me of the fall, you know? Meanwhile, your mother's love of figs is impressive. 🙂 Just hearing about her passion for eating them made me wish I had a few for snacking. In the mean time, I'll just dream about this incredible cake. I hope you and Loreto have a wonderful weekend. Pinning! 🙂
Glad you didn't miss this cake, Demeter! It is so good, and people already tried it and found it amazing. Thanks so much my friend for stopping by and leaving another one of your lovely comments. My mother says "hi" 🙂 . Have a wonderful week!
Michelle @ The Last Food Blog says
This looks so gorgeous Nicoletta! Your Mum sounds like my kind of lady, the thought of those figs mashed on some great bread is just heaven 🙂
Thanks so much for your lovely comment, Michelle! We're in Italy on vacation right now and we're eating beautiful, seasonal, sweet and juicy figs, witnessing my mother's pleasure as she eats them 🙂 . As for the cake, it is really incredible!
Marale Garabetian says
Hi,
Have you made this with almond flour? Would it work?
I haven't. The recipe has already a part of almond meal. It could work, but you might have to adjust the wet ingredients since almond flour contains more moisture. You could try mixing some brown rice flour or another gluten-free flour to replace the all-purpose listed in the ingredients and leave the almond meal to 3/4 cup. Let me know how it turns out!