Food with JP Passion – Sticky Fig Cake
By JP Kennedy
John Paul Kennedy is a self-taught cook and an avid fan of collecting cookery books with a passion for good old-fashioned home cooking. his passion for proper family cooking stems from his TWO Grandmothers, who were both excellent cooks, one of whom was a trained chef.
JP promises to bring us plenty of family-inspired recipes and tasty treats while showing us how to get the basics right.
This is a brand new recipe I recently made for the first time. It’s from my favourite chef Clodagh McKenna’s cook book, Clodagh’s Suppers, and, as she says, is the perfect cake recipe for the autumn winter months.
It’s similar to a sticky toffee cake/pudding only not as heavy and sweet.
Sticky Fig Cake
The use of ripe figs and dates in the recipe kisses the cake with natural sweetness.
The icing is to die for and it’s similar to the one I use when making carrot cake with the addition of drizzled honey. This went down a real treat last Sunday for after-dinner dessert.
Ingredients
- 300g dried pitted dates
- 150g dried figs
- 900ml water
- 225g unsalted butter softened
- 350g light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 300g self-raising flour
- 2 teaspoons bicarb
Frosting & Decoration
- 350g full-fat cream cheese
- 300g icing sugar
- Teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of one orange
- Drizzle of runny honey
- 6 fresh figs
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 180° Celsius and grease a 25-30cm spring-form cake tin.
2. Pop the dates, dried figs and water into a saucepan – over a medium heat bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes before blitzing to a purée in a food processor.
4. In a large mixing bowl, I use my free-standing mixer and, using the paddle attachment, place the butter and sugar and mix on high speed until pale in colour and nice and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after adding each one. Then add the vanilla extract.
6. Fold in the flour and bicarb followed by the fig and date purée.
7. Pour the cake batter into a greased tin and bake for 50-55 minutes until a skewer comes out clean from the middle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely while you make the frosting.
8. Using an electric mixer mix together the icing sugar, cream cheese and vanilla extract until nice and smooth.
9. Once the cake is fully cooled remove from the tin and adorn with the icing spread out evenly. Add the zest of a grated orange and place the fresh figs on top of the cake. Then drizzle with some clear honey. Serve and enjoy.
My sticky toffee bundt cake is a favourite with my family so I was excited to test this recipe out on them especially after my cousin in New York tagged me after Clodagh posted a pic and clip of her making it on This Morning.
It smells delicious baking, yet it’s lighter than a sticky toffee cake but incredibly moist and delicious. This is a cake I will be making over and over again, I hope you give it a try and enjoy it too.
Contact JP on:
Twitter: @JPKCooking
Email: JPKCooking@gmail.com
Instagram: jpkennedy.kennedy
TAGS Lifestyle
