Fig-topped Honey Yogurt Cake

9

October 15, 2012 by Dana

Last summer, I had a brilliant idea.  I decided that it was about time to start a garden.  And despite the fact that I live in a small apartment in the middle of Queens on the 9th floor of my building, and have no access to any sort of land at all, let alone space to create a garden, I forged ahead.  Because I’m stubborn motivated.

So, I went to Home Depot. I picked out a big turquoise flower pot.  I grabbed an enormous bag of planting soil and a little hand shovel.  I chose some organic fertilizer, and scoped out the perfect cherry tomato plant.  And $57 later, I left the store.

I went home and made a huge mess planted the cherry tomato plant in the turquoise planter.  I stored the remainder of the big bag in the limited space in my closet.  And I waited.  And waited.

And after about a week of waiting, something finally happened!

I found fruit flies.

So I went back to Home Depot.  And picked out some organic insect soap.  And another $9 later, I left the store once yet again.

For the next few days, I diligently sprayed my little plant every day.  And about a week later, I saw them.  Three little cherry tomatoes!  And another week later, they were big enough to be picked.  So I plucked them off the vine.  And I popped them in my mouth.  And, to be honest, it was pretty anticlimactic.

And so, I got less motivated.  And forgot to water my plant for a month few days.

And now, all that remains, is Jake’s occasional party story about the time that I spent $66 for a total of 3 cherry tomatoes.  Thanks, honey.

So, maybe I don’t exactly have a green thumb.  But I do know some pretty talented people that do…  In fact one of my coworkers has a huge garden in her backyard, complete with two giant fig trees that have more figs than any one family could possibly eat.

Lucky for me, she’s happy to share her bounty.  And lucky for her, I’m happy to turn those figs into a moist, delicious, lightly sweet Fig-topped Honey Yogurt Cake to share with the office.  Win-win!

Fig-topped Honey Yogurt Cake
(slightly adapted from Mi Piace Kate)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups yogurt
2/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup raw honey
3 Tbsp sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Handful of large fresh figs, sliced lengthwise in thin slices

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan lightly with baking spray or oil, and line the bottom with parchment paper.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, honey, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and nutmeg into the liquid mixture and stir just until no lumps remain.

3.  Pour the batter into the cake pan. Carefully arrange sliced figs on the top of the cake batter.  Bake for about 60 minutes, covering with foil toward the end if the top is browning. When a tester comes out clean, transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.

4.  Slice and enjoy!