Southern or Northern? Fig Cake

The late night baker wanted to bake something with the large jar of fig preserves I received as a gift.

I found so many mouth watering recipes calling themselves "Southern" fig cakes.

I guess what makes a cake "Southern" is the buttermilk?
That seems to be the main ingredient in all these beautiful sweet cakes.

We have plenty of fig trees in New Jersey and there are tons of fig trees in California, so I am going with the buttermilk theory. If you have a better answer, let me know.

I used a jar of fig preserves, as called for, along with chopped dried Calimyrna figs, and of course I substituted the cup of vegetable oil for a cup of olive oil.

This cake was delicious.

What else can I say, except I wonder what it would be like if it were a "Northern" fig cake?

Southern Fig Cake (adapted from many recipes when I googled "Southern Fig Cake"):

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup vegetable oil (I used a mild olive oil)
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup fig preserves, chopped
1/2 cup dried figs, chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl; add oil, beating well.
Add eggs, and beat well; then add buttermilk and vanilla, mixing thoroughly.
Stir in preserves and pecans.
Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube or bundt pan; bake at 350F° for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan.

Most of the cakes called for a buttermilk glaze, but I stuck to my East Coast roots and sprinkled the cake with only a dusting of confectioners sugar.



Enjoy y'all!

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