I will make
up any excuse for cake.
I love cake, I love sweet desserts, I love cream.
The month
of December and January has been the peak of trialling and making different
cakes.
I love that
figs are in season. I’ve been in fig heaven lately having had my favourite
salad - fresh figs with prosciutto, shavings of parmesan drizzled with balsamic
and olive oil. I’m drooling even thinking about it.
It was time
to celebrate figs so I made Bill Granger’s Hazelnut and Fig cake.
I’ve made
cakes with almond meal, pistachio meal but recipe called for hazelnut meal so I
was curious to taste the difference.
125g
unsalted butter, softened
150g caster
sugar75g plain flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs lightly beaten
100g ground hazelnuts
50g hazelnuts chopped into small pieces
8 fresh figs (not too ripe) halved
2 tablespoons honey
Preheat
oven to 180C. Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until pale and
fluffy.
This is when a kitchen aid comes in handy. In another bowl place the
flour and baking powder and stir through. Pour in the flour and egg
alternatively into the creamed mixture. Fold in the ground hazelnuts and then
the chopped hazelnuts.
Grease a
20cm cake tin and line with baking paper, leaving paper hanging over the side
to help lift out the cake. Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth down.
Arrange the figs, cut side up in a neat layer on top of the cake. No need to
embed into mixture. Bake for 55mins to 1 hour or until skewer poked into the
middle of the cake comes out clean.
Leave to
rest in the tin for 10mins before turning out. Drizzle honey over the top of
cake before serving. Bill Granger states that this is lovely both as a cake and
as a dessert with lightly whipped cream.
I've made this cake 4 times already as the hazelnut meal just makes this cake amazing!!
