Fig Upside Down Cake made with fresh figs caramelized in a brown sugar and butter sauce, and a light and delicious vanilla sponge, a no-fuss cake recipe that uses fresh seasonal produce to create a fantastic family-favourite dessert. The fig cake is cut into bars for the perfect potluck dessert to feed a small crowd.
Summer might be coming to an end soon, but the abundance of fresh produce is only getting better and better as we get into Harvest time. Figs are in season from end of August, so we need to make the most of this amazing fruit while it's at its best.
Figs are so versatile, and work wonderfully well in both sweet and savoury dishes. There are countless desserts to bake with fresh figs, and this delicious fig upside down cake tops the charts for sure.
I have made lots of upside down cakes before, from the classic pineapple upside down cake, to plum upside down cake, wild blackberry upside down cake, apple upside down cake and the fantastic banana upside down cake cooked in a frying pan.
Figs work as well in this cake, as they caramelize nicely at the bottom of the pan, and look like a real piece of art once it's turned upside down to reveal a yummy dessert that absolutely everyone will love.
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Ingredients used
- fresh figs - use figs that are a little bit soft to the touch, as they are ripe and juicy. You will probably not use all the 5 figs, depending on the thickness of the slices.
- dark brown sugar - to spread onto the bottom of the pan, together with the butter it makes a lovely caramel that works beautifully with the figs
- eggs - I used large eggs
- butter - melted, to spread over the bottom of the pan
- soft butter - it's added to the sponge
- flour - plain flour works fine as we add raising agents to the sponge anyway
- baking powder & bicarb of soda - helps create a light and airy sponge
- sugar - either granulated or caster sugar
- vanilla extract - for the sponge
Variations
With other upside down cakes I opted not to melt the butter for the caramel, but I just used soft butter to brush the bottom of the pan really well, then sprinkled the sugar over. Both methods work, so it's up to you which one you prefer.
If you don't have dark brown sugar, the light one should work too, you will just get a lighter-colour caramel.
The vanilla extract can be swapped for any other extract of your choice: lemon, orange, almond, rum and so on.
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- to make the sponge, add the soft butter and sugar to a mixing bowl, and use a hand mixer to beat everything well until you get a smooth texture
- add the eggs one by one, mixing well after every addition
- sift in the flour, add the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and vanilla extract, and use a spatula to mix everything into a batter
- spread the melted butter over the bottom of a square baking tray ( mine is 24 cm large and 5 cm high (9 inches large and 2 inches high).
- sprinkle the dark brown sugar over, then arrange the sliced figs over the bottom of the pan
- spread the batter over the fruit, making sure it's an even level
- bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius ( 350 Fahrenheit) for 30 minutes until the top is golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean
- leave the cake to cool down, then run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the sponge
- place a wooden board on top of the pan, and turn it upside down
- slice the cake into squares and enjoy
Expert tips
The size of the eggs used can change the consistency of the batter. The recipe calls for large eggs, if you only have small ones, add a tablespoon or 2 of milk to loosen the batter a bit to make it easier to spread over the fruit.
As I used a square baking tin, I wanted to have one fig slice to top one cake bar, so I used 9 slices of fruit, and cut the cake into 9 squares. If you use a round cake tin, you can add more slides of fruit, as that won't be an issue at all.
Recipe FAQs
Fresh fruit work the best in upside down cakes, as we need their juiciness to create a lovely top. Dried fruit won't have the right texture and the cakes won't look as nice.
If the sponge is still raw in places and has sunk in the middle, in means it was not baked for long enough. Even if the cake looks golden enough, you must test it for doneness using a skewer. If it comes out with wet crumbs, the cake has to be returned to the oven.
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Fig Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- 5 figs
- 30 g melted butter ( 2 tbsp)
- 2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 100 g soft butter
- 100 g plain flour
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius ( 350 Fahrenheit, 160 fan oven).
- To make the sponge, add the soft butter and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl, and use a hand mixer to beat them well until you have a light texture.
- Add the eggs one by one, beating well after every addition.
- Sift in the flour, add the bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and vanilla extract, and use a spatula to mix everything into a batter.
- Spread the melted butter over the bottom of a square baking tin (Â mine is 24 cm large and 5 cm high - 9 inches large and 2 inches high).
- Sprinkle the dark brown sugar over the melted butter, then arrange the fig slices.
- Spread the batter over the fruit, then bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden, and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool down slightly, then run a sharp knife around the edges of the sponge to loosen it up.
- Place a wooden board on top of the tin, and turn it upside down quickly.
- Slice the cake into squares and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- The size of the eggs used can change the consistency of the batter. The recipe calls for large eggs, if you only have small ones, add a tablespoon or 2 of milk to loosen the batter a bit to make it easier to spread over the fruit.
- As I used a square baking tin, I wanted to have one fig slice to top one cake bar, so I used 9 slices of fruit, and cut the cake into 9 squares. If you use a round cake tin, you can add more slides of fruit, as that won't be an issue at all.
Nutrition
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