A moist, delicious cake sweetened with fig jam and topped with a tangy buttermilk glaze. Ocracoke Fig Cake is a lovely treat for dessert, a mid-afternoon snack, or even for breakfast!
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Ocracoke Fig cake is a tender spice cake brimming with flavor thanks to fig jam and a sweet buttermilk glaze. The traditional fig cake of the Outer Banks in North Carolina was the inspiration for this recipe.
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Why this recipe works
- Fig jam adds flavor: A quick, stove-top fig jam gives the cake sweetness and deep flavor.
- Easy to make: Creating an Ocracoke Fig Cake from scratch is as simple as mixing ingredients together and pouring them into a pan.
- Topped with sweet glaze: Fig cake gets an extra hit of sweetness from a simple buttermilk and vanilla glaze.
- It's versatile! Enjoys slices of the cake as a make-ahead breakfast for guests, for dessert, or as a coffee break snack.
History of the Ocracoke Island fig cake
Like many Vermonters, our family loved to briefly flee the landlocked state in summer to head to the shore; most of the time the destination was nearby Maine, but there were also a few years when we drove to the gorgeous beaches and dunes of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
The Chamber of Commerce there describes the Banks as a 120-mile chain of barrier islands that extends from Virginia Beach south along the North Carolina coast. Ocracoke Island is the southernmost point of the Banks, and several varieties of fig trees grow abundantly there. While vacationing in the Banks, it was such a pleasure to learn about their beloved Ocracoke Island fig cake; it inspired me to create a fig cake recipe of my own.
It's thought that Ocracoke's famous fig cake was created in the 1960s; the woman to thank is Margaret Garrish, an Ocracoke Island native who baked many desserts for her family and local events. The day she decided to add fig preserves to her cake batter (instead of simply spreading the jam between cake layers) was the day that her island found its signature dessert.
Ocracoke Island celebrates its figs with an annual summer fig festival. Events include music, local chefs working their magic with fig-infused dishes, and perhaps best of all, a fig cake bake-off! To learn more about the festival, which takes place in August, visit the official Fig Festival website.
I tell ya! This cake is delicious beyond words. Thank you for the recipe! It's a keeper. Love the complex flavor and the hint of pepperiness. Many thanks!!!!
- Tonya
Why you'll love this fig cake recipe
This old-fashioned fig cake recipe is a lovely treat to make for so many occasions: to welcome new neighbors to the area, for potluck dinners, to have in the house as an after-dinner dessert, or to bring out with mid-afternoon cups of tea and coffee. You can also the spiced fig cake to your bookmarked recipes for Make-Ahead Breakfasts to feed overnight guests in the morning.
Rich and moist, fig Bundt cake is infused with spices and sweet fig, and it gets an extra splash of sweetness from a buttermilk glaze added after baking.
You'll also appreciate that this is a straightforward recipe; just mix the cake batter ingredients and bake it. The recipe includes directions for a 10-minute, stove-top fig jam that's stirred into the batter. (You can also use a store-bought fig jam.)
Another Bundt!
Cherry Chocolate Coffee Cake
A delectable cake for dessert or breakfast.
🔪 How to make Ocracoke Fig Cake
Ingredients:
- Dried Figs: Chopped figs get simmered into a quick compote.
- Sugar: It sweetens everything from the jam to the cake to the glaze.
- Lemon: The acidity of a little lemon juice balances the sweetness of the jam.
- Eggs: Use large eggs, local and cage-free if possible.
- Flour: My go-to all-purpose flour is King Arthur Baking brand.
- Spices: The cake has a simple blend of grated nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, salt, and black pepper.
- Baking Soda: This leavener is activated by buttermilk and gives the cake a light texture.
- Buttermilk: It helps the cake rise and also adds a little tangy flavor to the glaze.
- Vegetable Oil: This fat creates a moist and tender crumb in the cake.
- Chopped Walnuts: The nuts are a traditional ingredient in this cake, but adding them is optional.
- Vanilla Extract: Use good quality vanilla extract brand like Nielsen-Massey.
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Make a quick fig jam
Combine chopped, dried figs with sugar, lemon, and water in a saucepan. Simmer the mixture for about 10 minutes until it's thick. Let it cool.
Make the cake batter
Beat the eggs in a mixer until they're frothy, then blend in sugar and oil. Mix the dry ingredients, flour, spices, and baking soda, in a separate bowl. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture in batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Mix in the fig jam.
Fill the pan and bake
Pour the batter into a greased and floured tube or Bundt pan. Bake the cake for about an hour.
Make the glaze
While the cake bakes, make the glaze on the stovetop by combining buttermilk, sugar, butter, and dry ingredients. Bring it to a boil. Remove it from the heat, add vanilla, and hold it aside for the cake.
Glaze and serve the cake
Invert the baked and slightly cooled cake onto a serving platter. Pour the warm glaze over the top. Slice the cake and serve.
Tips:
- Traditional fig cake recipes call for fig preserves; in this recipe, the quicky fig jam takes the place of those preserves. Because the jam is made fresh, it's very moist and perfect for this cake.
- An old-fashioned Ocracoke fig cake may also call for walnuts. Since we have no walnut fans in our house I don't use them. However, if you are a walnut fan, you can add a half-cup of chopped walnuts to the batter before baking.
FAQs
Yes! However, since fresh figs have more water than dried figs, you need to make a tweak to the recipe to use them in this fig cake recipe. In the recipe card below, you'll find directions on how to make this recipe with fresh figs.
Yes! Skip the steps to make fig jam on the stove; instead, substitute 1-½ cups of store-bought fig jam or your own homemade fig jam to add to the fig cake.
In the U.S., cornstarch refers to a fine, white powder made from dried corn that feels silky to the touch. It's used to thicken sauces and pie fillings. In the UK, this same product is called cornflour, so if you can't find cornstarch, you can check for packages of cornflour instead. However, don't use cornmeal in the fig cake; this is much coarser and won't work the same way as cornstarch.
The Ocracoke Fig Cake recipe is below! And here are more recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth:
💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Ocracoke Fig Cake
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Ingredients
For the fig jam:
- 1½ cups finely chopped dried figs, stems removed (use about 8 ounces of whole dried figs to yield 1½ cups of chopped figs)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 slices of lemon
- ⅔ cup water
For the cake:
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
For the glaze:
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch (also known as cornflour in the UK)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Make the fig jam:
- Place the chopped figs in a medium-sized saucepan and stir them together with the ½ cup of the sugar, the lemon slices and the ⅔ cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Cover and simmer the mixture for about 10 minutes until it is thickened, stirring it often to prevent the figs from sticking to the bottom. Remove the pan from heat and discard the lemon slices.
- Pour the contents into a heatproof bowl and allow the jam to cool. This will make about 1½ cups (13 ounces) of quicky fig jam.
Make the cake batter:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Thouroughly grease and flour a 10-inch tube or Bundt pan.
- Beat the eggs in a stand mixer until they're frothy and light yellow. Add in the 1 cup of the granulated sugar, the oil, and the 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix until everything is combined.
- Mix together in a separate bowl the flour, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, salt, black pepper, and the 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Add the dry mix to the egg mixture in two or three additions, alternating with the ½ cup of buttermilk. Mix just until the ingredients are combined.
- Slowly mix the fig jam into the batter. (If you're using walnuts, add them now.) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer.
- Bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a tester inserted in the cake comes out clean. Remove the pan to a cooling rack for 15 minutes.
Make the glaze:
- While the cake bakes, make the glaze. Combine the ½ cup of buttermilk, the ½ cup of sugar, melted butter, corn starch, and the ¼ teaspoon of baking soda in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
- Once it comes to a boil, immediately remove the pan from heat and keep stirring. It will be foamy and will escape the pan if not stirred!
- Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla and then let the glaze sit to wait for the cake.
Finish the cake:
- Have a serving platter ready for the cake: the platter should have enough room and high-enough edges to hold excess glaze.
- After the cake has cooled for 15 minutes, run a knife around the edges and the center column to loosen it from the pan. Invert the pan onto the serving platter and gently remove the pan from the cake.
- Pour the warm glaze evenly over the top of the still-warm cake.
- Allow the cake to cool for another 10 to 15 minutes. Then slice it and serve!
- Makes 10 generous slices
Option: Use Fresh Figs
One of my readers, Sybil, made this recipe with fresh figs (Thanks Sybil!) Here is how to she recommends using fresh figs in this recipe:
- For the fig jam step, omit the dried figs and the ⅔ cup of water. Use 3 cups of sliced, fresh figs instead.
- Cook them in the saucepan with the lemon slices and sugar as directed above until the quicky jam has thickened; this may take a little longer than the 10 minutes.
- Use this fig jam and continue with the recipe!
Option: Use Mini Loaf Pans
- To make mini loaves of this Fig Cake, divide the batter between five greased and floured mini loaf pans (6-inch size.) Bake the mini loaves for about 35 minutes until a tester inserted in the centers comes out clean.
Notes
- In traditional fig cakes the recipe may call for fig preserves. In this recipe, the stove-top fig jam takes the place of those preserves. Because the jam is made fresh by you, it's very moist and is perfect for this cake.
- If you'd rather, you can use store-bought or your own fig jam or preserves. Use 1-½ cups of jam or preserves in the recipe, and skip the stove-top fig jam directions.
- Traditional fig cakes may also call for walnuts. We have no walnut fans in our house, so I don't use them. However, if you are a walnut fan, you can add a ½ cup of chopped walnuts to the batter before baking.
Nutrition
RobM61 says
Delicious cake!! I made this using so delicious unsweetened coconut milk beverage and lemon juice in place of the buttermilk, and Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour so it was gluten free as well! Beautiful texture, lovely flavor! Just wonderful! Thanks for the recipe!
Nancy Mock says
You're very welcome, I'm so happy that you enjoyed it!
Debbie says
This cake came out moist and delicious! I used fresh figs from my trees and made the jam. It wasnt too sweet. I didn’t use the glaze but enjoyed it plain.
Nancy Mock says
Hi Debbie, thank you for trying my recipe—I'm really happy to hear you like it! And I'm jealous you get to make it with your own figs!
Bea says
I LOVE this delicious, moist cake. It reminds me of home in New Orleans. I live in NC now but grew up eating old fashioned fig cake & this recipe doesn't disappoint. In moving I had lost my recipe that was over 100 years old. At first I didn't have oven temp or measurements. It was measured in tea cups & ladles but I finally had it figured out. Thank you for sharing this one it's really quite delicious 😋
Nancy Mock says
Bea, I'm so happy to hear that my fig cake reminds you of home and of your old recipe. That's a shame that it's lost but I hope it'll find its way back to you some day. Thank you so much for trying my recipe and sharing your story with me!
Darlene in Nova Scotia says
Hello Nancy, I am so happy to find your recipe for this fig cake. It looks so delicious! I purchased a bottle of Italian Fig Vanilla puree at Costco, it was big disappointment. The vanilla is so strong it over powers the fig flavour so I need to bake with it. As soon as I get buttermilk I will make this cake (really there's no substitute for the real buttermilk). I suspect if I leave out the vanilla in your recipe it will be perfect. I'll be back with a review soon.
Thank you Nancy.
Have a great day.
Nancy Mock says
Hi Darlene, I think this sounds like a great way to use up the fig puree. That's too bad that the vanilla is overpowering because the puree does sound good. I think you're right about the fig cake recipe, if the vanilla is that strong that you may not need any extract at all. I hope you'll let me know how the cake turns out—thanks for giving my recipe a try!