Fig Preserve Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Y’all -- this Fig Preserve Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is EVERYTHING!! Figs are one of my absolute favorite fruits and in my opinion, they are straight from heaven above. I love that they are super versatile and can be used in so many different dishes ranging from a fresh fig salad to baked brie topped with fig preserves & crackers. YUMMM! Want to know my new favorite way to incorporate them?! You guessed it, CAKE! :) Do you know what I love even more than figs?? Cream cheese frosting! The creamy sweet frosting with a little tang is the PERFECT match for this moist fig preserve cake.
By the way, how fun is this fluted gold & white cake stand?! I'm kind of obsessed with it! :) Y'all know I'm a sucker for antiques so naturally, I found it at a super random estate sale back in Texas. There are also four gold bees in the center that you can't see until the cake it cut into! I LOVE little eclectic details like that!
Okay so y'all may be wondering how I frosted the cake! Just trust me on this -- it's BEYOND simple!! I adopted the frosting technique from the famous Nothing Bundt Cakes and watched this YouTube video to see how they exactly do it! The key is to start frosting from the bottom of the cake towards the center. This was my very first attempt and I simply used a gallon size zip-lock bag and trimmed off the bottom corner! Then you just want to make you have an offset spatula to smooth out the center. Also fresh flowers in the center are key -- just be sure no one actually eats them. ;)
Last but definitely not least -- this cake can be made YEAR ROUND which is one of the things I love most about it! Here in Mississippi we are lucky enough to have fig trees and I pick them every single year (in fact it happens to be one of the things I look forward to most in the hot humid summer lol)! However, they are only in season for about a month from late June to August, which is such a bummer since figs are such an amazing fruit in the fall!
Luckily we have fig preserves! Cannot wait for y'all to make this -- be ready to be obsessed! Enjoy!
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Fig Preserve Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Yields 12-16 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 55-60 minutes
INGREDIENTS
For the cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups light brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon rum extract
1 cup fig preserves, such as Braswell’s
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup walnuts, chopped
For the cream cheese frosting
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of coarse kosher salt
NOTES
Frosting this bundt cake is BEYOND simple!! I adopted the frosting technique from the famous Nothing Bundt Cakes! I watched this YouTube video to see how they exactly do it! I used a gallon size zip lock back and trimmed off the bottom corner. The key is to start frosting from the bottom of the cake towards the center. Then you just want to make you have an offset spatula to smooth out the center. Fresh flowers in the center are a major bonus — just be sure no one actually eats them! 😉
**To store the cake (if frosted with cream cheese frosting be sure to store in an air tight container up to four days. If making ahead of time, don’t frost until the day you are serving the cake.
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INSTRUCTIONS
For the cake
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Grease & flour a bundt pan. (I always use butter to grease the pan.)
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and light brown sugar. (Use a spoon or spatula to press the light brown sugar through the sift if needed.)
Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the oil and beat well on low speed.
Add the eggs one at a time. Then add the buttermilk slowly until combined.
Add fig preserves, vanilla, and rum extract until combined.
Add the ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix until just combined.
Using a spatula, gently fold the chopped walnuts in.
Pour the batter into the greased and floured bundt pan.
Bake for 55-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes.
Carefully, invert the cake onto a wire cooling rack and finish cooling completely before frosting.
For the cream cheese frosting
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the softened cream cheese and butter on medium speed until whipped and completely combined.
Turn the mixer down to low speed and very slowly add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until combined. After all the powdered sugar has been added, whip on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Then add the vanilla and a pinch of salt. Beat until combined.