fig, blueberry, and almond cake
I’m a lucky girl, and not just because a lovely, rustic colander filled with Gawgia figs and freshly-plucked blueberries mysteriously made its way onto the kitchen counter.
I’m feeling grateful to live under a roof with one of my favorite people and several of my favorite creatures; to have a job at which I get to sculpt things out of flour and water and yeast; to live in a city that I’ve grown to love; that my family and friends love me even though I don’t call nearly as often as I should.
I’m grateful to have food to eat, and for the fact that there seems to be a community of people who share this strange compulsion to post pictures and stories of the food they craft and eat. I’m also feeling a twinge of first-world guilt. Perhaps I could run ads and donate to food banks? I don’t know.
I’m just feeling grateful. That’s all.
This here cake
is intensely almond-y, with little cornmeal crunchies and pockets of jammy, figgy goodness. It would be just as tasty with just blueberries, or without any fruit at all, of this I am certain.
I’m also pretty grateful that this series on figs is coming to a close. I get distracted by shiny, new things like savory white bean tarts and vegan banana walnut chocolate chip cookies and, to be honest, a new-ish service that delivers from almost any restaurant in town. Mmmmmm. Sweet, sweet, lazy takeout. I love you.
the recipe
Fig, Blueberry, and Almond Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
- Line an 8-inch (20 cm) cake pan with parchment and spray with no-stick, or butter and flour it
- 1/2 cup 70 g fine yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup 60 g cake flour, all purpose worked fine for me
- 1 teaspoon 5 mL baking powder
- 8 tablespoons 113 g unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup 65 g almond paste, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon 2.5 mL vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups 150 g powdered sugar
- 2 100 g eggs, room temp
- 1/2 a cup 120 g sour cream
- 1/2 a cup 75 g blueberries, tossed with a bit of flour
- about 5 figs, quartered
- Whisk together cornmeal, flour, and baking powder.
- Using mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and almond paste on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low and add vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Mix about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add sour cream and dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated.
- Fold blueberries into batter, then scrape into prepared cake pan. Smooth with spatula.
- Press figs into batter.
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the cake is golden and pulls away from sides of pan. Let cake cool on a wire rack, then remove from pan.
each column is one step, working left to right — hover a cell for the full instruction
- 1/2 cup 70 g fine yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup 60 g cake flour, all purpose worked fine for me
- 1 teaspoon 5 mL baking powder
- 8 tablespoons 113 g unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup 65 g almond paste, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon 2.5 mL vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups 150 g powdered sugar
- 2 100 g eggs, room temp
- 1/2 a cup 120 g sour cream
- 1/2 a cup 75 g blueberries, tossed with a bit of flour
- about 5 figs, quartered
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line an 8-inch (20 cm) cake pan with parchment and spray with no-stick, or butter and flour it.
Whisk together cornmeal, flour, and baking powder.
Using mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and almond paste on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Reduce speed to low and add vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Mix about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Add sour cream and dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated.
Fold blueberries into batter, then scrape into prepared cake pan. Smooth with spatula.
Press figs into batter.
Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the cake is golden and pulls away from sides of pan. Let cake cool on a wire rack, then remove from pan.
— adapted from Giada De Laurentiis