• This cake is figgin delicious! Celebrate the festive season with this show-stopping upside-down fig cake.

    Lush, caramelized figs glisten atop a moist, spiced cake,d drizzled generously with a decadent sticky toffee sauce, each bite is a rich, indulgent experience that’s perfect for holiday gatherings.

    Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

    Upside-down fig cake with sticky toffee sauce

    Serves: 6 - 8
    Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins

    Ingredients

    • TOFFEE SAUCE

    • 50g salted butter
    • 60g caramel sugar
    • pinch salt
    • 80ml (⅓ cup) fresh cream
    • CAKE BATTER

    • 2 extra-large eggs
    • 60g brown sugar
    • 200g dried figs, chopped and soaked in boiling water for 20 mins
    • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
    • 200g cake flour
    • 1 tsp ground cloves
    • 1 tbsp vanilla essence
    • 100g salted butter, melted
    • 100g plain double-cream/Greek yoghurt
    • 8 fresh figs, halved + extra quarters, to garnish

    Instructions

    1

    Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line an 18cm springform cake tin with baking paper. Set aside.

    2

    For the toffee sauce, combine the 50g salted butter, caramel sugar and salt in a medium saucepan placed over medium-high heat. Stir continuously until the butter has melted. Add the fresh cream and cook until the mixture has thickened, about 4 – 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside until completely cooled.

    3

    For the cake batter, place the eggs and brown sugar in the bowl of a hand-held/stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Add the soaked figs, bicarbonate of soda, cake flour, ground cloves, vanilla essence, 100g melted butter and plain double-cream/Greek yoghurt. Beat until well combined. Set aside until needed.

    4

    Arrange the fresh fig halves cut side down in the base of the prepared cake tin. Pour ¾ of the toffee sauce over the fig halves. Pour the batter into the tin and use a spatula to smooth the surface. Bake in the preheated oven until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and set aside to cool in the tin.

    5

    Once cool, remove the cake from the tin and transfer to a cake stand. Pour the remaining ¼ of the toffee sauce over the top. Garnish with the fresh fig quarters.

    ALSO SEE: Upside-down strawberry cake

    Upside-down strawberry cake

    Recipe and styling by Nomvuselelo Mncube

    Photograph by Dylan Swart

    Imka Webb
    Author

    Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine.  www.imkawebb.com