Fig and Ricotta Cake

You know you are in the summer homestretch when you start to see those funny little figs pop up around you. Fig season is the perfect way to celebrate those warm summer days that are leading into the cooler evenings. For some other figs treats, try this fig almond tart or fig and goat cheese pizza too.

This cake is made for summer evening soirees, it’s simple, sweet and beautiful but it’s so easy to make, you can whip it up at a moment’s notice for your guests.

Ingredients

This ricotta cake with figs only requires 10 ingredients, and I bet you have most of them in your cabinet already. I won’t go through every ingredient here like salt, but let’s discuss some of the most important points.

• All-purpose layer. When I make layer cakes, I prefer a cake flour because it’s a bit lighter, but because we’re making a small snacking-style cake, I prefer it to be a bit more sturdy.
• Olive oil. Use a virgin or light virgin olive oil, you don’t need to spend extra money on an extra-virgin variety unless you really want to. Extra-virgin means the flavor is more pure because they avoid heating the olives during the manufacturing process, but we’re heating the oil up in the cake either way! So I keep an extra-virgin bottle on hand for things like this peach salad, and a bottle of virgin for things like this grapefruit cake.
• Honey. Honey, figs and ricotta are a great match in heaven. If you aren’t a honey fan, you can omit and add an extra 1/4 cup of granulated sugar.
• Whole milk ricotta. Use a good, whole milk ricotta for the best flavor and texture. Avoid skim milk varieties as they will be thinner and overall just taste meh.
• Fresh Figs. Use your favorite variety, I used black mission figs because they looked great at the store. Look for figs that are slightly soft but not mushy. This will ensure they are ripe but not disintegrate once baked. Do not substitute dried figs.

Working with Fresh Figs

Figs are still not quite as common in baking as other fruits (and technically they are an inverted flower, not a fruit) – certainly not like carrots or berries! But they are so delicious, I’m doing my part to get them mainstream.

There’s a whole bunch of fig varieties out there. Mission figs or black figs are my favorite and probably the most common fig you will see in the stores. They pair wonderful with cheeses, nuts and can skew sweet or savory.

Look for ripe figs that are just slightly soft, like a peach, when shopping. Avoid over-ripe, especially mushy, figs because they just will not hold up once they are baked.

To prep the figs, slice off the top stem first. Then, slice into 4 quarters (lengthwise through the stem side).

Making a Ricotta Cake

Not only does pairing olive oil with ricotta just make sense flavor-wise, it also makes this cake so super easy to make. When you have a butter-based cake, you have to drag out the mixer and get whipping, but with an oil based cake, you just need two bowls and a whisk.

Start with whisking or sifting together the dry ingredients in one bowl. Then, whisk together the wet ingredients. Fun fact: In the baking world, sugar is considered a wet ingredient because it melts into a liquid when baked!

Stir the two bowls together and you are done! Seriously, that is it! Pour it into a pan prepared with a little non-stick spray or greased and floured and a parchment base.

Next, I topped the batter with the quartered figs. Don’t be shy, place quite a few on top, this is also you decoration! I didn’t stack any on top of one another, but they are darn close.

Sprinkle the top with some coarse turbinado sugar so the figs caramelize slightly once baked.