Fig and Raspberry Crumble Cake

The original Fig and Raspberry Crumble Cake recipe by Diana Henry that this cake was adapted from, uses fresh figs and raspberries. But, as I often do, I decided to change the recipe and use dried figs and frozen raspberries instead because that’s all I had at the time. I must admit I was a little worried that it wouldn’t work out but, after seeing the reaction from my biggest critic (aka my husband), I knew this was a recipe I had to share with you.

What’s so great about this Fig and Raspberry Crumble Cake is that it’s easy to bake and not overly sweet. The combination of flavours and textures from the figs, raspberries and almonds is what makes this cake a real standout for me. It’s the kind of cake you can whip up quickly and really impress unexpected guests.

Served warm with a dollop of cream, it’s delicious comfort food to indulge in on a cold winter’s night 🙂

What you need

• 8 dried figs
• 100g unsalted butter, softened.
• 100g raw caster sugar
• 2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 125g plain flour
• 75g almond meal (ground almonds)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g Greek natural yoghurt
• 175g raspberries (fresh or frozen)

For the crumble topping

• 50g flour
• 25g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 35g soft brown sugar
• 40g flaked almonds

What to do

Remove the stalks from the figs. Place figs in a bowl and pour over 1 cup hot water. Leave for 30 – 60 minutes or until they soften and become plump. Drain and put aside.

Heat oven to 160^oC fan. Grease and line the base of a 20cm springform cake tin with baking paper.

To make the crumble topping, rub the flour and butter together with your fingertips until you have a breadcrumb like mixture. Stir in the sugar and flaked almonds. Set aside.

For the cake, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add a little of the beaten eggs at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix through.

Sift the flour with baking powder and add the almond meal – mix to combine.

Fold in a little of the flour mixture into the batter, then add the rest, alternating with the yoghurt.

Cut 4 of the figs in quarters and roughly chop the rest. Stir the chopped figs and one-third of the raspberries into the batter.

Put the mixture into the prepared tin – spread evenly. Lay the quartered figs on top and scatter on raspberries. Sprinkle the crumble over the top.

Bake for 1 hour 15 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean (check after 1 hour).

Leave cake in the tin for about 15 mins. Run a palette knife around the outside of the cake, carefully unclasp the surround and slide the cake onto a serving plate, removing the tin base and baking paper.

Serve warm with whipped cream.