Upside-Down Olive Oil Fig and Rosemary Cake Recipe

This is our second fig season and our backyard fig tree is bursting with late summer goodness that this Upside-Down Olive Oil Fig and Rosemary Cake recipe was the first cake I made to usher in the season. Scroll down to pin or print the recipe card and get ready to make this fresh fig cake recipe!

A Delicious Cake for Your Morning Coffee or Dessert

You'll love this cake idea that makes good use of ripe figs. The flour mixture relies on the Sonora whole wheat flour from our Farmer Mai Flour CSA but you can use all-purpose flour as a substitute. I love a slice of this as a simple coffee cake in the morning with coffee and a dollop of my refrigerator fig jam or fig preserves. Fig season is definitely one of my favorite seasons now that we've got this tree in our backyard. 

Ingredients to Make This Delicious Fig Cake Recipe

This is an easy fig cake to make within an hour that's perfect for fall entertaining or a simple dessert at home to enjoy your ripe fresh figs. Here's what we'll need to make it: 

For the fig layer in our upside-down cake, we'll use turbinado sugar which will create a nice caramelized layer with our figs. You can also substitute for brown sugar here. 

A mix of Sonora whole wheat flour and almond flour offers a delicious flavor to our cake that compliments that figs. You'll notice in the recipe card that we weigh our flours here. This will help in creating a consistent finish for our cake, especially since the flours here have different weighted amounts. 

Baking powder will help as our leavening agent and coupled with the greek yogurt, helps to create a moist cake with a tender crumb. We also will infuse the granulated sugar with chopped fresh rosemary. Truth be told, I absolutely love the combination of this herbaceous herb with the figs. However, you can definitely leave out the rosemary if that's not your jam. 

It's a classic olive oil cake, so olive oil is used in lieu of unsalted butter. You can definitely use melted butter if you like. I imagine brown butter would be equally delicious here. 

Vanilla bean paste is my go-to for at home baking but you can also use vanilla extract as well. 

How to Make This Delicious Fig Cake Recipe

This cake is ready in an hour and offers one of the best flavor combinations with the fresh figs and rosemary. Here's how we make it:

Step 1. Prepare Cake Pan with Figs

• Preheat oven to 350℉/180℃. Generously grease a 9” round cake pan with butter and all purpose flour. This will help to ensure the cake doesn’t stick. For added insurance, line the cake pan with a round of parchment paper, if desired. 
• Sprinkle ⅓ cup of turbinado sugar evenly along the bottom of the cake pan. Remove the stems and slice 10 to 12 figs in half, lengthwise along the stem. Arrange the figs along the bottom of the pan, cut side down. You can start from the center and move outwards in arranging your halved figs. 

Step 2. Prepare Cake Batter

• In a small mixing bowl, rub the chopped fresh rosemary into the sugar to infuse it with flavor. Set to the side. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, the ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, the two large eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. 
• Fold in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and gently stir until just combined. Pour batter over the top of the sliced figs and spread evenly until the cake batter meets the edges of the prepared pan. 
• Place cake pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the center is set and not jiggly and the edges are golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. 

Step 3. Bake Cake

• Cool cake on a wire rack for about 20 to 30 minutes. Use a butter knife or offset spatula and run it along the outer edges of the cake, pushing the blade towards the center of the cake pan to loosen the edges. This will help to remove any potentially stuck portions. 

Step 4. Cool Cake and Enjoy!

• Using a large or oversized plate, place plate on top of the cooled cake then flip so bottom of cake pan is now on top. Tap the bottom of the cake pan to help loosen the cake. Gently remove the cake pan, lifting straight up, to reveal the fig topping. Garnish with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. 
• Store the cake lightly covered (leave a bit of room for air to get in) at room temperature for two days, or refrigerate covered for 3-4 days. 

More Fall Desserts and Sweets to Try

There are plenty of great recipes for the fall season to try and this is one of several fig recipes I know you'll love. After trying this cake, please also check out recipes like: 

Upside-Down Olive Oil Fig and Rosemary Cake Recipe

Frances Kellar

This is the perfect cake for easy fall entertaining featuring a beloved fall fruit. Enjoy as a dessert as part of your fall entertaining or with a cup of coffee for an indulgent breakfast.

4 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10 slices

Equipment

• 1 9-inch round cake pan

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 120 grams of Sonora whole wheat flour
• 130 grams almond flour
• 4 grams baking powder
• 2 grams kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 180 grams granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves removed from stem
• ⅔ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 2 large eggs
• Fig Layer
• * ⅓ cup turbinado sugar
• * 10-12 fresh figs stems removed and sliced in half

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350℉/180℃. Generously grease a 9” round cake pan with butter and all purpose flour. This will help to ensure the cake doesn’t stick. For added insurance, line the cake pan with a round of parchment paper, if desired.
• Sprinkle ⅓ cup of turbinado sugar evenly along the bottom of the cake pan. Remove the stems and slice 10 to 12 figs in half, lengthwise along the stem. Arrange the figs along the bottom of the pan, cut side down. You can start from the center and move outwards in arranging your halved figs.
• In a small mixing bowl, rub the chopped fresh rosemary into the sugar to infuse it with flavor. Set to the side.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, the rosemary infused sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla.
Fold in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and gently stir until just combined. Pour cake batter over the top of the figs and spread evenly until the batter meets the edges of the cake pan.
• Place cake pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the center is set and not jiggly and the edges are golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
• Cool cake on a wire rack for about 20 to 30 minutes. Use a butter knife or offset spatula and run it along the outer edges of the cake, pushing the blade towards the center of the cake pan to loosen the edges. This will help to remove any potentially stuck portions.
• Using a large or oversized plate, place plate on top of the cooled cake then flip so bottom of cake pan is now on top. Tap the bottom of the cake pan to help loosen the cake. Gently remove the cake pan, lifting straight up, to reveal the fig topping. Garnish with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
• Store the cake lightly covered at room temperature for two days, or refrigerate covered for 3-4 days.

Keyword brunch menu, easy desserts, Fall recipes, easy entertaining, fig recipes, olive oil cake

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