Honey, Fig, and Walnut Cake

How many people think that baking happens every day in our house?

Or that the kitchen is always clean? That maybe all my desserts turn out perfectly?

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Just to share what really happens in this kitchen, here’s a run down of what was going on when I was making this cake.

Two loads of laundry were working in the washer and dryer.

Maggie was either napping or going crazy staring at Roxy and Willie outside on the porch.

The kitchen was still a mess from breakfast.

While this cake was baking, I was mixing up cookie dough for a new recipe trial and getting ready to bake 4 dozen for Nick to have this week.

In between pouring batter, scooping cookies, and not washing the dirty dishes in the sink, I was also trying to fix my lunch so I wouldn’t just eat cake scraps and raw cookie dough.

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And to make things even better, the cake came out of the pan perfectly for me to snap a few pictures, but I when I put it back in the pan to put in the fridge, it totally fell apart.

It doesn’t look nearly as impressive now that it’s in 3 pieces, but it sure looks pretty when you turn it out of the pan.

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So you get the pretty pictures of the cake.

And we’ll get to each uneven cake chunks for breakfast and snacks this week.

Even with the broken pieces, this cake is worth making.

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It’s not horribly sweet and since there’s no frosting, it’s a great option for an afternoon snack, light dessert, or even a fun weekday breakfast. Serve a slice with a drizzle of honey and some extra figs on the side or a dollop of freshly whipped cream – you can’t go wrong.

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I hope you’re not sick of figs. The fall harvest is hitting right now, so I’ve got a lot more to use.

 

Honey, Fig, and Walnut Cake

Makes: 12 slices

Ingredients:

  • 8 figs, quartered
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/3 cup cornmeal
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease and flour an 8 or 9 inch cake pan and place the quartered figs and chopped walnuts in the bottom of the cake pan.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg with the oil, honey, and vanilla.
  4. Stir the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt into the honey mixture.
  5. Pour batter over the figs and walnuts and spread out to cover all of the figs.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the center is set.
  7. Cool completely before removing from the pan. To remove, run a knife around the edges of the cake, place a plate on top of the cake pan, and flip over.
  8. Serve with extra honey drizzled on top.

23 comments

  1. I knew from the post title I would lovee this recipe, and I do!! YUM :)

  2. hahaha- I think about things like this even more now that I have a baby. I wish people knew how many pictures I’ve taken in the last week while a baby was either screaming in the background or drooling on my chest ;) The cake looks delicious. I don’t like sweet, sweet cakes, so it sounds like a winner to me

  3. Glad I’m not the only one who has had a cake fall apart on me before. These still looks delicious, though! Now I want to plant a fig tree! :-P

  4. I’m with Erika… I want a fig tree!

    Cake looks fabulous. Amazing how we can hide imperfections and work through a bazillion and one household interruptions. Great work! LOL

    Now, can you give me ideas for Concord grapes?

  5. I want this with a scoop of Greek yogurt for breakfast, yum!

  6. More figs? Lucky you! The cake sounds wonderful.

  7. LOL! I love it!! Your house sounds a lot like mine, except throw in a few kids! (And a different hubby, of course!) You did manage to get some awesome pics, tough. Mmmmm!

  8. Thanks for the honesty, haha. Baking time at my house is never just “baking time” either – there’s usually a billion other chores going on at the same time!

  9. I love figs, and I’ll bet they’re awesome in a cake.
    Your kitchen sounds like my wife and my kitchen on a weekend. That’s when we do all of our recipe tweaks, smoking, and grilling. It gets hectic.

  10. OMG, whenever I step foot into a kitchen it’s as if every dish, spoon, knife fork, bowl is instantly dirty – and I can never explain to my family how that happens!

    I am a messy cook, but I am working on it! Love that cake!

  11. I LOVE that your house sounds like mine! I also love that beautiful food comes from craziness. The pics make me think of a relaxed day sitting on a porch swing snacking on cake. Next time my house is utter craziness {like now} I’ll keep this picture in my head. ;)

  12. Definitely not sick of figs! It’s so great to see all the things you can do with them. If I found a fig bush in my yard, I would have no idea what to do with it! This looks delicious.

  13. Stunning – this is my kind of cake! I thought you’d like to know this was “stumbled” to me via stumble upon from Curt!

  14. This sounds like a great way to use the figs I have sitting around.

  15. Nope, not sick of figs at all. In fact I’m just getting excited about them too since they are popping up everywhere here lately and I’m looking for inspiration for what to do with them.

  16. Love your fun story – that’s exactly what goes on in my kitchen! Like the whole grains in this cake!

  17. Well, at least you got some pics before it fell apart. And they are beautiful pictures indeed!

  18. so pretty! i’ve been obsessed with fresh figs lately.

  19. Pingback: Easy Fig Recipes | The Assembler's Kitchen | Kris M Beal

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