Fresh-Fig Cake With Honey Cream-Cheese Frosting Recipe (2024)

If I substitute apples for the figs should I use fig jam--or another kind? Thanks.

I just made this today and I'm not sure what happened. The cake was so dense, it was basically a bread. Hardly moist at all either. The cake had no fig taste once it was baked, and it was way too sweet. I followed the recipe exactly and I've been baking cakes for years now. I think this needs to go back to the drawing board.

I also cut the all sugar by almost half and I substituted orange extract in the icing ... I added more figs too ... it's a great cake ... taste the icing as you make it to find the best amount ...

So...you made an entirely different recipe.

I would not have made this cake except that I had fresh figs that weren't too sweet and fig preserves in the fridge that no one was eating. I used only 1 cup of sugar and it was enough. Also made cupcakes and they rose beautifully. It was just an OK recipe, not really special enough as to the price for the figs. Your mandarin orange cake is my absolute favorite of all time.

Need to use lot more figs than recipe indicated. It's a fig cake after all. Sugar needs to reduce to 1 cup. With the frosting a bit on the indulgent side, it can also use a little less icing sugar. Otherwise a great cake and I love figs.

Everyone really really enjoyed it; great flavor. Couple of thoughts: I folded the jam into the batter in order to keep from deflating it, but the jam didn't break up well. As a result, the jam pooled in a few spots at the bottom. I would "mash" the jam next time before folding, so it's less chunky before baking. Also, I used a 9.5" springform pan, covered it half-way through, and still had fairly dark cake with a soft center. Trying cupcakes next time.

I made this recipe in 2 loaf pans and did not ice as I wanted a loaf rather than a cake. I also used more figs (7) and only 1/2 cup sugar. I only had about 1/4 cup fig jam so also added 1/2 cup unsweetened plain apple butter. The loaves baked for 1 hr. The result-delicious! Moist and not overly sweet-just as I had imagined. Will definitely bake this again.

I’ve had great success with this recipe as is. Have also substituted 2 cups of almond flour for regular flour (keeping 1 cup of regular flour for a total of 3 cups as called for) and used frozen figs from Trader Joe’s. Dense, moist, delicious and needs no frosting.

as always a deliciously tempting recipe, which I will try asap. BUT, BUT...one fervent plea to Melissa (if I may be that familiar?) PLEASE, please, please, please....when you bring us a dish that is specifically for a Jewish holiday meal, why do you always (almost always?) ignore the prohibition against mixing dairy with meat. I get it that you don't observe that practice. Neither do I. coninued in next comment

I use an instant-read thermometer. It should cook to 210 F.

Why not try apple butter ?

This cake looks delicious but that frosting! 2 cups of cream cheese and 1 1/2 cups of butter! I'm all for indulging but that just sounds like a heart attack on a plate. I'd make this cake in a bundt pan, finish it with a light glaze/icing, and decorate with sliced figs.

Liked the flavor of the cake a lot but had trouble baking it. It rose well, was nicely browned (had to cover with foil to keep it from being too brown), pulling away from the edge of the pan, felt done when top was touched, and a toothpick in the center came out clean...and still the cake fell as it cooled. Not sure what else I could have done to ensure it baked fully. I made as directed except I used 3 6-inch cake pans which is a fairly common swap for a recipe that makes 2 9-inch layers.

Well that’s 2 hours I will never get back. It was really dense, dry, and unappetizing and I even took out of the oven early. I’m sure a lot of this is my ability but I probably won’t try this one again

Because I only have 8-inch cake tins, I decided to bake just one cake and use the excess batter for muffins. (Baking time for the 8-inch cake was around 53 minutes). I also halved the amount of frosting; this made plenty. Overall: A nice spice cake, similar to Melissa's "Banana-Coconut Layer Cake," but lighter.

Doubled figs1 cup olive oil6 tablespoons yogurtNo butter in frostingNo conf. Sugar in frosting

The recipe makes about 4x the amount of frosting necessary. I think I can use this frosting for the rest of my baked goods in the next week. Seriously, it's a LOT.

It wasn’t terrible, but for the cost of ingredients in this cake it most certainly should have been better. It was fairly bland and heavy in sweetness. If I was making it again I would amp up the figs and spices. I think figs would shine better in a different setting however.

I did a test run of this cake as prescribed, then half the sugar of the cake, then proportions as prescribed but with apples - and instead of fig jam, I used apple butter. All turned out wonderfully, but my favorite is as prescribed, with Fig & Ginger jam from Stonewall Kitchens. No need to leave out the ground ginger - it adds a nice kick!Will be making the apple version again for Rosh Hashanah, with a honey drizzle on top.

Great recipe for the cake, though as others have noted, the recipe for the frosting would cover 2 or even 3 cakes!

Saving this one for Rosh Hashanah- looks beautiful. Question: Can I substitute marscapone for regular cream cheese? I find it balances fig nicely. I might also sprinkle with mint.

Took the suggestions to add more figs (about double), use less sugar (1 cup), and used vanilla paste instead of extract for the frosting - very moist and figgy!

This was amazing and it looked beautiful! I made with fresh figs off the neighbor's tree. Perfect balance of moist, a little crusty on the edges. I would definitely make again. I did use less sugar in the frosting....and less of the frosting overall. I also added more ginger and cardamom because I like it.

YES. A delight visually and in my belly.

Love this cake however for the frosting i use only 1 tbsp confection sugar and add 1/4 cup orange juice. Keeps the sweetness in check

While the flavor of the cake was excellent, I found the texture to be quite dense and a bit too close textured. Not sure if I overmixed it while folding in the jam. Loved the cardamom flavor though, as well as the cream cheese frosting. It was a big hit with the guests, nonetheless, and none of them mentioned the density.

Everyone always loves this cake. It is sweet but plays so well with the fruit and the spice. I’ve substituted pears and apples when I don’t have figs and those work well too otherwise I make it directly as written and always perfect

Good but a little dry. I'd make it again but this time with more buttermilk/yogurt.