I love cake - Hazelnut and fig cake

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.

Ingredients list

125g unsalted butter, softened

150g caster sugar
75g 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!!