This rustic dried fig cake is filled with sweet chopped figs and walnuts, brightened with fresh lemon zest and juice, and leavened with yeast instead of baking powder. The yeast gives the cake a tender, slightly bread-like crumb with a golden crust and soft interior. It's an easy fall and holiday bake that's lovely for breakfast, brunch, or served with coffee when family and friends gather.
This rustic-looking, beautiful yeast cake is one of our favorite family-baked treats, and a ridiculously easy holiday or weekend bake that pairs best with coffee or tea. Growing up, special cookies like Speculoos or baked goods like Date Cake or Healthy Breakfast Cake were always reserved for Sundays or special holidays. That's when the kitchen truly became the heart of the home.
I still love keeping some of these favorite baking traditions alive. From early fall well into the heart of winter, my oven always does a bit of overtime, baking goods like this dried fig cake, and everyone loves to gather in a cozy kitchen.
Baking for the holidays? You might also like my Moist Orange Loaf Cake With Spelt Flour or Mascarpone Cookies.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Yeast-leavened: Yeast gives this cake its own unique taste that's well worth the little extra time. It adds rich, complex flavor, while chopped figs and walnuts bring a nice surprise with every bite.
- Gift of goodness: A homemade dried fig cake makes a thoughtful gift for friends or loved ones, carrying both flavor and sentiment.
- Perfect for any occasion: It tastes like the holidays and lazy weekends, and feels like sweet, cozy Christmas mornings or an easy Sunday with coffee.
Ingredients & Notes
This dried fig cake uses a few important ingredients to bring the flavors together.
- Flour: The original recipe calls only for unbleached all-purpose flour. I love to replace half of it with Spelt flour for a more natural, sweeter flavor.
- Coconut sugar: This caramel-colored sweetener tastes like brown sugar, which you can use instead.
- Lemon zest and lemon juice: You want both. The zest adds a lovely aroma and brightens the sweet flavors, while the juice adds a tart, acidic element to balance that sweetness.
- Active dry yeast: One ¼-ounce (7-gram) packet is all you need to leaven this cake.
- Eggs: Choose large farmer's eggs at room temperature. They're easier to whip and mix much better with the batter, allowing it to rise more easily.
- Butter: Also at room temperature, so it's soft and easy to knead and mix into the dry ingredients.
- Dried figs: I use either black Mission or Smyrna figs for natural sweetness. Unlike fresh figs, they're available year-round.
- Walnuts: Optional, but I recommend them. It's delicious.
Note: Instead of dried fruit, you can mix in sweet, ripe figs during fig season.
How To Make Dried Fig Cake
Step 1 - Add the Flour and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), add the flour and the sugar.
Step 2 - Whisk out the Lumps: Whisk the flour and sugar together to break up any lumps.
Step Three (Picture 3 above) - Add the grated lemon zest, lemon juice, rehydrated yeast, beaten eggs, and butter.
Step 3 - Add the Wet Ingredients: Add the grated lemon zest, lemon juice, rehydrated yeast, beaten eggs, and butter. (See How To Activate Dry Yeast in the FAQs below.)
Step 4 - Mix the Dough: Mix with the dough hook of a stand mixer on low to medium, or by hand, until everything is well combined and no chunks of butter remain. Don't over-knead.
Step 5 - Add the Figs and Walnuts: Stir in the chopped figs and walnuts until evenly combined.
Step 6 - Let the Dough Rest: Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest for about 1 hour.
Step 7 - Prepare the Pan & Spread the Dough: Near the end of the rest, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Butter the springform pan, dust it with flour, and tap out the excess. Use a spatula to spread the dough evenly into the prepared pan.
Step 8 - Bake: Bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean with no wet crumbs clinging to it. The cake will look rustic and golden brown. Let it cool completely before removing it from the pan.
Top Tips
- Use two lemons: This recipe uses the zest and juice of two unpeeled, washed lemons (about 155 grams), which gives you about two tablespoons of zest and two tablespoons of juice.
- Bring the eggs to room temperature: I rest them in a bowl on the counter for about 30 minutes before I start baking.
- Soften the butter: Leave it on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour. Cutting it into small cubes speeds this up, or microwave it for a few seconds until softened.
- Chop the figs and walnuts small: Tiny pieces avoid big clusters in the baked cake.
- Store dried figs airtight: Keep them in an airtight container or well-sealed bag so they stay sweet and moist inside, with their distinctive seeds, rather than drying out.
- Don't expect it to double: This batter won't double like regular bread or pizza dough, but it will rise by a few inches, adding air and lightness for a moist crumb.
Variations & Substitutions
- Sweet fig bread: Make this cake with less sugar for something closer to a sweet fig bread. Use only half of the sugar and add ⅓ more walnuts and figs. You can also use bread flour for this version.
- Add thyme: Before baking, sprinkle the dough with dried thyme leaves, or work about 2 to 3 tablespoons of freshly chopped thyme leaves into the batter. The thyme adds a wonderful aroma and pleasant flavor.
- How to serve the bread version: It has just a hint of sweetness and tastes lovely with butter, a compote, fig jam, fig preserves, or apple butter.
Make It a Holiday or Breakfast Cake
This fig and walnut yeast cake is a perfect coffee cake for your fall or winter baking. Serve it with coffee or tea for a weekend breakfast, or dust it with sifted powdered sugar and add fresh sliced figs for a more festive look.
It doesn't need any decoration. The top looks rustic and beautiful enough on a cake stand with extra fresh figs and thyme sprigs on the side. Set the table with butter, chocolate peanut butter, jam, compote, sweet spreads, and your favorite mocktail.
For a holiday brunch, make it part of a breakfast grazing board.
Storage
Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.
For longer storage, slice it into individual pieces, wrap each in parchment paper, and freeze in a container for two to three months. Defrost the slices at room temperature for a bit. I like to pop them in a toaster (or the microwave for a few seconds).
Recipe FAQs
Yes, of course. Traditionally, yeast was one of the few reliable ways to get cake batter to rise and be significantly more airy and fluffy. Growing up, we never used the more conventional baking powder as a leavening agent for our cake recipes.
Yeast ferments the batter. Fermentation creates air bubbles in your dough or batter, giving it a lighter texture and a slightly crumbly cake structure once baked. Fermented yeast also adds a delicate, unique taste that improves the overall flavor. A yeast cake also holds its moisture better and can be stored longer on the counter without drying out too quickly.
Yeast cakes require a little more patience because the batter needs time to rise (about 40 minutes to one hour). It's best to use flour with a higher protein content, like all-purpose, bread, or Spelt flour. These proteins develop gluten, which yeast needs to form the cake's structure.
The texture will still be light and fairly crumbly, but this fig and walnut cake is a bit denser than cakes baked with other leavening agents, making it more of a bread-like treat perfect for breakfast or brunch. It also has a more rustic-looking browned crust with a soft interior. It's not your typical big fluffy cake, but a traditionally European-looking, old-fashioned yeast cake with beautiful flavors.
Dormant, granular yeast that needs to be rehydrated and proofed. Active dry yeast is usually sold in small jars or packets in the grocery store.
Yes. Double the amount of yeast the recipe calls for, crumble it, and let it soften in ¼ cup of lukewarm water with sugar. Allow it to bubble and get foamy before you proceed.
Bloom it in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes:
Step 1: Place the dry yeast in a small bowl large enough to hold at least one cup of water, so the yeast has room to bloom and expand. I usually add ½ teaspoon of coconut sugar.
Step 2: Add ¼ cup warm water (about 110°F to 115°F) and stir or whisk to dissolve the yeast. If the water is too cold, the yeast stays inactive; too hot, and it dies. You can use an instant-read thermometer. I usually test the water with my wrist: it should feel very warm but not hot.
Step 3: Wait for it to bloom. You'll see a layer of fuzzy bubbles forming on top. If it doesn't start blooming, the yeast is probably expired. In winter, I cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel to keep it warm for the yeast to bloom.
Step 4: After 10 to 15 minutes, you should see a foamy, bubbly crust that has almost doubled in volume.
Yes, you can make this cake batter by hand (I often do). It's best to use a stand mixer with a dough hook, but if you're using your hands, you can't knead the conventional way, like when making pizza bread, since the batter is fairly wet. Instead, combine the flour mixture just enough to make sure all the ingredients are evenly worked in, especially the butter. The dough will feel sticky once the butter is fully incorporated, so use a spatula to remove any bits from your hands.
Yes, either works. The recipe is made in a 9-inch springform pan, so the baking time may vary slightly: an 8-inch pan may take a bit longer, while a 10-inch pan may need less time. Always check for doneness with a toothpick in the center. It should come out clean with no wet crumbs clinging to it.
No, not with gluten-free flours like brown rice, almond, or coconut flour. The yeast leavening is the core issue: yeast needs gluten to trap CO₂ and build structure. If your concern is hybridized wheat, I recommend trying Einkorn flour from Jovial (one of my favorites). Otherwise, fold chopped figs into a gluten-free bake like my almond flour coffee cake or my Lemon Ginger Olive Oil Cookies in place of the berries. Chop the figs very small so they don't throw off the texture, and you may need to adjust the baking time.
📖 Recipe
Dried Fig Cake with Walnuts (Yeast-Leavened)
Mariska RamondinoEquipment
- 1 9-inch round springform pan.
- 1 Stand mixer with a dough hook Best for mixing, but you can make this batter by hand (I often do).
- Large mixing bowl and whisk For combining the flour and sugar.
- 1 spatula For spreading the dough into the pan and scraping sticky dough off your hands if kneading by hand.
- 1 clean kitchen towel To cover the bowl while the dough rests.
- 1 instant-read (optional) thermometer For checking the water temperature when activating the yeast.
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour (500 grams) I use a combo of unbleached all-purpose flour and Spelt flour, but feel free to use all-purpose flour only.
- 2 cups coconut sugar (305 grams) You can use pure cane sugar, if preferred.
- Grated zest of 1 large lemon (or 2 small ones) or equivalent to 2 tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 packet active dry yeast, (¼ ounce or 7 grams) Rehydrated according to package instructions.
- 4 large eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 9 ounces butter at room temperature (255 grams) Plus more to butter the spring form.
- 15 dried chopped figs
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (50 grams) You can go up to 80 grams.
Instructions
- In a large bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer), combine the flour and the sugar with a whisk to break up any lumps.4 cups flour (500 grams), 2 cups coconut sugar (305 grams)
- Add the grated lemon zest, lemon juice, rehydrated yeast, beaten eggs, and butter.Grated zest of 1 large lemon (or 2 small ones) or equivalent to 2 tablespoons, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 packet active dry yeast, (¼ ounce or 7 grams) , 4 large eggs at room temperature, beaten, 9 ounces butter at room temperature (255 grams)
- Use your hands to combine the ingredients, ensuring no chunks of butter are left. If using a stand mixer, let the dough hook mix and knead your dough on a low to medium setting.
- Don't over-knead it, just enough to work in the butter.
- Work in the pieces of fig and walnuts. If done by hand, I simply stir them in using a wooden spoon.15 dried chopped figs, ½ cup chopped walnuts (50 grams)
- Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest for about 1 hour.
- Close to the end of that one hour, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/ 180 degrees C.
- Butter the springform pan, then shake in a bit of flour (coating all sides) and tap out the excess. Use a spatula to spread the dough evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean with no wet crumbs clinging to it.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the pan.
- Serve as is or top with sifted powder sugar for a more festive look or extra fresh sliced figs.
Notes
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Nutrition (% Daily value)
Disclaimer: This nutritional data is calculated using third party tools and is only intended as a reference.
Cara says
I do not use any form of wheat-based flour - with or without gluten. Is it possible to modify this using brown rice flour, almond flour, and/or coconut flour? Or does it require all purpose flour to work correctly? Thanks!
Mariska Ramondino says
Hi Cara, this traditional recipe cannot be straightforwardly adapted with those flours. The yeast-leavening is the core issue. Yeast needs gluten to trap CO₂ and build structure. If it's an issue around hybridized wheat, I recommend trying Einkorn flour from Jovial (one of my favorites). Otherwise, there are plenty of alternative flour cakes or treats on the blog that you can try out and make your own by folding in figs. Try my almond flour coffee cake, for example. Or try these Lemon Ginger Olive Oil Cookies, but with chopped figs instead of berries. One suggestion, if you do adapt these recipes, always chop the figs very small to not throw off the texture. And you might have to adjust the baking time. But worth trying! Happy baking!
Alison says
Excellent recipe. I'm making this for Thanksgiving!! I didn't use spelt flour...but I will next time!
Thank You 😊
Mariska Ramondino says
Hi Alison, thank you! So happy you love the fig cake. It's an old family recipe. Happy Thanksgiving!
Kathy E says
I really want to make this, but what size pan? I have 3 spring form pans, 6" 8" and 10". which size should I use?
Mariska Ramondino says
Hi Kathy,
You're going to love this cake. So, it's made with a 9-inch springform pan, but you can use an 8-inch or 10-inch springform pan for this dried fig cake. Just keep in mind that the baking time may vary slightly. If using an 8-inch pan, the cake might take a bit longer to bake, while a 10-inch pan may require less time. Always check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center; it should come out clean with no wet crumbs clinging to it. Happy baking and let me know how it turns out;)