fresh fig and almond crumble cake
This was going to be a plum crumble cake until I passed the fruit shop and discovered that fresh figs had come to town. I couldn't go past them and decided to incorporate them into the cake.
This butter cake is so versatile and has featured on this blog in many guises. I've made versions using raspberries, blueberries, rhubarb, plums, apricots and nectarines sometimes with a crumble topping, sometimes with a layer of ricotta in the middle. All versions are equally delicious. Normally I use walnuts when I make the crumble topping but figured that almonds would go well with figs so used those instead. If you use plums, apricots or nectarines to top the cake, the cake will take longer to cook. You'll need an extra 15 minutes or so cooking time.
Here's the recipe for you if you'd like to give it a try. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.
Fresh fig and almond crumble cake - makes a 20 cm cake. I used a 20cm Bakemaster spring form cake pan from Everten
Cake
6 – 8 figs quartered
1 tbs caster sugar
150g unsalted butter, softened
150g (⅔ cup) caster sugar
1 tsp finely grated orange rind
2 eggs at room temperature
1 cup self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
pinch salt
½ cup almond meal
100 mls milk
Crumble Topping
30 grams (1 oz) cold unsalted butter cut into small chunks
¼ cup (55 gm) brown sugar
¼ cup (35 gm) plain flour
pinch salt
½ cup flaked almonds
Crumble Topping
Combine the butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt in a small food processor and pulse until just combined. Tip into a bowl and mix in the flaked almonds. You can mix this by hand in a small bowl using your finger tips to rub the butter into the flour and sugar. Place the crumble topping in a small bowl and refrigerate while making the cake.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and flour a 20 cm round cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
Quarter the figs and generously sprinkle with sugar. Set to one side while you make the cake batter. Cream the butter, sugar and orange rind together until pale and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Sift the flour with the baking powder and a pinch of salt into a small bowl then stir in the almond meal. Add the flour mixture in batches to the batter alternating with the milk until you have a nice smooth batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and smooth with a knife before topping with the figs, pressing them into the mixture a little.
Scatter the crumble over the top of the cake batter and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with icing sugar just before serving.
I took the cake into work and it was demolished in an instant. Thankfully I'd had the foresight to cut a small piece of cake for myself before the hungry hordes descended.
See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.
Bye for now,
Jillian
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