(Figs in the photo: Golden Delicious, Brown Turkey, Verte.)
[This blog post is part of The Farm Project and showcases a few photos from the first Fig Lovers Feast at Ticonderoga Farm. It includes a recipe for a fig Bundt cake with honey butter glaze, and both the figs and honey come from the farm. Visit my photography website to see all the photos from this photo shoot. ~ Andrea]
The second farm in The Farm Project is Ticonderoga Farms in Loudoun County, Virginia, which has been in their family for five generations. They grow figs, pumpkins, bamboo, flowers, Christmas trees, tomatoes, and other vegetables on their 1,000 acres. In addition, they raise free-range hens and sell the eggs, and they also sell organic honey from their bee hives. They hold festivals in spring, summer, autumn, and winter celebrating each season and the things they grow. In 2011 they hosted their first Fig Lovers Feast, a celebration of the fig groves that they had planted eight years earlier which now have over 400 trees and produce enough figs to sell commercially. They grow five varieties of figs for commercial production and are experimenting with 10 other varieties. They provide figs to several high-end restaurants in Northern Virginia, including The Inn at Little Washington.
The Fig Lovers Feast, September 2011
(Click to view all the photos from the Fig Lovers Feast event.)
I attended the Fig Lovers Feast as the official photographer, and in preparation for the event I brought home some of their figs and honey to test and create recipes, including this fig cake. For more fig recipes, visit the Ticonderoga Farms website.
Recipe Notes
This cake is dense and ultra moist, much like a holiday fruit cake, and like many fruit cakes taste best after resting overnight. Both the figs and the honey I used in this recipe are from Ticonderoga Farms. Their award-winning honey has a deep color and rich flavor, so I used just enough to glaze the cake. Any kind of fresh fig will work for the puree, but I think I prefer a lighter golden type of fig for the dried figs. Look for dried Calimyrna figs in your local grocery store, or if you are fortunate to have access to fresh figs, try drying them for a fun project.
Fig Bundt Cake with Honey Butter Glaze
Equipment
- food processor
- stand mixer with paddle attachment
- 12-cup bundt pan, greased and floured
- flour sifter or fine mesh strainer
- medium bowl
Ingredients
Fig Puree
- 1 pound figs (very ripe, rinsed, stems removed)
Cake
- ½ pound unsalted butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups fig puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 5 ounces dried figs (stems removed, chopped)
Glaze
- ¼ cup honey
- 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
Preparation
Fig Puree
- Quarter the figs and process them in the food processor until the mixture is smooth.
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325° F/165° C. Set rack in the middle of the oven.
- In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until it it light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well each time. Add the fig puree and vanilla extract, and mix until thoroughly combined.
- In the medium bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda. Add to the fig mixture and stir gently, tossing in the chopped figs. Do not over mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes, checking every 5 minutes after 1 hour has passed. When a tester comes out dry with just a few crumbs clinging, remove the pan from the oven. If the tester has no crumbs the cake will be dry.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
Glaze
- Warm the honey and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Brush the warm glaze over the warm cake, and then again after the cake has cooled.
- Allow the cake to rest overnight before serving. Store the cake in a cake keeper or on a cake stand with glass cover. The cake will stay moist for 2 to 3 days. Refrigerate or freeze any leftovers.
Kalyn says
My brother has a fig tree and once when he was visiting he brought me some fresh figs. They are so delicious (and so hard to get in Utah, sigh.)
Andrea says
Hi Kalyn. Figs are so delicious, aren't they? We have four fig trees that we acquired over the last year, all still small and not really producing much yet, but I can't wait until they start producing more.
SharleneT says
It's my old stomping grounds! How many wonderful fall memories have returned from my Ticonderoga trips. Glad to see you've enjoyed the experience. Since I've put up so many figs, this year, gonna definitely try this cake. Probably, to be shared over the Christmas holidays. Thank you. Come visit when you can.
Jamie says
Andrea, the cake is beautiful! Do you know I never cook or bake with figs! We get gorgeous figs on the marketplace and we lived in Italy for many years where figs are practically part of the culinary culture yet I never buy them nor eat them. Why? After seeing so many gorgeous figs on my friends' food blogs I am so tempted! Your cake is fabulous! I am inspired!
Andrea says
SharleneT, I really enjoy my visits to Ticonderoga, good people there.
Thank you Jamie! Once you start eating and cooking with figs you'll probably get hooked on them like my family is now.
Hari Chandana says
Looks super soft and delicious.. love it !!