I’m gonna share the recipe of a simple and delightful cake today. It’s the perfect combination of almonds and fresh figs, put together by the Ottolenghi himself.
I absolutely love figs, it’s my second favourite fruit after strawberries. Luckily they’re around for quite a bit, starting to ripen around mid summer and last until almost the end of October. I mostly enjoy them as they are but when I can save a few I like to try different recipes and bake with them. They look gorgeous added to salads, crostinis and pizzaz.
I came across this Ottolenghi recipe a while ago when searching for a cake that could be enjoyed any time of the day. It’s so simple to put together and perfect for breakfast or could be served as a dessert with a scoop of ice cream by its side.
I made a couple of changes in the recipe; lowered the sugar a little, added lemon zest. You can find the original version here.
- 200 g butter (room temp)
- 150 g caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 180 g ground almonds
- 100 g flour
- 100 g yoghurt
- ½ tsp salt
- 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 lemon zest
- .
- TO FINISH
- fresh figs (halved or quartered)
- 1 Tbs caster sugar
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Butter and flour a 24cm cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
- Beat butter and sugar with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition.
- Mix ground almonds, flour and salt and fold into the batter.
- Mix in the yoghurt, lemon zest and vanilla extract.
- Pour batter into the cake tin and smooth the top. Arrange the figs without pressing too much and sprinkle with a Tbs of sugar.
- Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven then reduce the temperature to 170C/340F/gas mark 3 and bake for a further 40-45 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let cool before taking it out of the tin.
In the original recipe it is served with the addition of warm syrupy figs and a nice big dollop of greek yoghurt. I didn't have enough figs this time but I'll definitely give it a try next time.