This moist, sweet, and flavorful homemade fig bread recipe is a fall favorite! Also known as fig cake, it's loaded with chunks of fresh figs, chopped walnuts, and is spiced with cardamom and cinnamon. If you have leftover figs, be sure to try my candied figs recipe as well!
This moist and irresistible fig bread recipe is one of my most sought after recipes! Some of my friends refer to it as fig bread, while others call it fig cake. Whatever you call it, you'll agree that it's absolutely delicious!
Jump to:
🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- This fig cake recipe is one of the easiest recipes you'll ever make. No need to use a stand mixer, or use a bunch of bowls that leave you with a huge mess to clean up afterward.
- Baking fig bread is as easy as mixing the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. After that, pop it in the oven and enjoy the heavenly aroma!
- The spices used in this bread really compliment each other and give it a unique taste that you'll be craving all year long.
- Fig bread leftovers freezes well so you can enjoy your fig cake when figs are no longer in season.
🔖 Recipe Ingredients & Substitutions
- Figs: Fresh or frozen figs are preferred. If you absolutely can't get figs, you can rehydrate dried figs in hot water then squeeze out excess moisture. Another option is to use one 8 ounce jar of fig preserves or jam. If you do that, you may need to reduce the amount of sugar.
- Flour: All-purpose flour or a combination of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar, or a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar.
- Spices: Cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, and freshly ground nutmeg. If you don't have all the spices, you can skip one or two of them but you want the bread to have a mixture of these warming spices.
- Nuts: Either walnuts or pecans can be added. May leave out if you have nut allergies.
🍞 How to Make This Fig Bread Recipe
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Step 1: Mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, and sea salt) in a large bowl until combined.
Step 2: Place the walnuts in a ziplock bag and pound with a mallet until crushed. Another option is to use a small food processor.
Step 3: Fold the walnuts in with the dry ingredients.
Pro Tip: Folding the walnuts into the flour coats them with flour and keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the fig bread.
Step 4: In a medium bowl, whisk the wet ingredients (oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla and chopped figs).
Step 5: Fold wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just until incorporated. Pour batter into a greased and floured bundt pan, or two loaf pans.
Tip: If using frozen figs, make sure they are defrosted and drained first so that you don't have excessive liquid in you fig bread, which would cause it to sink in the middle.
Step 6: Bake in the oven, on the middle rack, for approximately one hour for a bundt pan. If using loaf pans, bake for approximately 45 minutes or until golden brown.
Pro Tip: Since oven temperatures vary, test with a toothpick to make sure it's cooked all the way through.
Step 7: Cool the fig bread for approximately 10 minutes before removing it from the pan. Cool on wire racks completely before slicing it.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
This recipe is very flexible and can be prepared with either oil or unsalted butter. Simply substitute an equal amount of melted and cooled butter for the amount of oil called for in this recipe.
There are many reasons why baked goods fall in the middle. Some say it's because the oven door was open during the baking process, while others say the bread needs more flour.
I think one of the main reasons fig bread caves in the middle is due to the high liquid content. This is due to the amount of juice in the figs.
This is especially the case if you use defrosted frozen figs, which is why I recommend straining the figs before using them. Try adding an additional ¼ cup of flour to increase the flour to liquid ratio.
Although I highly recommend using fresh figs, I realize not everyone has access to fresh figs, and that they are only in season for a short time of the year.
To use dried figs in this recipe, start by rehydrating the dried figs. Cover the figs with boiling water for approximately 10 minutes. Next, drain and pat the figs dry before chopping and measuring out one cup to use in the recipe.
If you want to use fig preserves to make fig cake, some adjustments need to be made to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe and up the flour content. I recommend the following adjustments:
• Reduce the amount of sugar from 1-⅓ cups to 1 cup.
• Increase the amount of flour by ¼ of a cup.
• Decrease the amount of figs from 1 cup of fresh figs to ¾ cups of preserves.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- The figs should be chopped coarsely instead of ground. We want big chunks of figs in the bread!
- During fig season, I chop the figs and add them to small ziplock bags in one cup portions. I then keep them in the freezer to use throughout the year when I'm craving fig bread.
- You can also make this fig bread recipe by replacing one of the eggs with half of a ripe banana. It makes an even moister cake/bread.
- Store the fig bread in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze for longer storage.
Figs, Gardening, and Good Neighbors
I'd like to dedicate this recipe to my next-door neighbor, the late Chuck Frazier. Chuck recently passed away at the age of 83.
It was while I was visiting my family in Chicago, so I didn't get to say goodbye. He and I shared the love of figs, gardening, and spicy food. Figs will forever remind me of Chuck!
Sometimes you thank God for placing certain people in your life, Chuck Frasier was one of those people in my life. Chuck was a Korean War/Vietnam War Veteran.
Although we had
I once admired the fig tree in his front yard and mentioned that I loved figs. After that, Chuck would always invite me to pick figs from his tree when they ripened in late Summer.
Chuck shared his figs with me, and I repaid him with this fig cake, strawberry fig jam, fig newtons, and fig preserves.
Things You Find Out at a Funeral
Why is it that you can live next door to someone for years and still not know certain things about them? That
Like the fact that Chuck was born in a train box cart. Or that he and his lovely wife, Shirley, fostered 200 children over the years!
Chuck loved Jesus, and never met a stranger. His favorite pastime was tending to his garden. When I would hear him in the garden (over our shared fence), I'd stand on a chair so that we could chat.
As I sit outside writing this post, I realize that the sound I hear coming from his yard is not Chuck; that makes me really sad.
Yet, I know I'll see him again one day, where I'm sure he'll take me around and show me his beautiful, heavenly garden!
🍽 More Quick Breads to Try
🍓 Related Recipes
If you enjoyed this fig bread recipe, be sure to check out these other fig recipes too!
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Stay in touch with me through social media @ Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook. Don't forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!
📖 Recipe
Favorite Fig Bread (Fig Cake) Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 1⅓ cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- 3 medium eggs (beaten)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh figs (chopped)
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
- 1 tablespoon softened butter (for greasing the pan/pans)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, and sea salt) in a large bowl until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the wet ingredients (oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla and chopped figs).
- Fold wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just until incorporated. Pour batter into a greased and floured bundt pan, or two loaf pans.
- Bake in the oven, on the middle rack, for approximately one hour for a bundt pan. If using loaf pans, bake for approximately 45 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool the fig bread for approximately 10 minutes before removing it from the pan. Cool on wire racks completely before slicing it.
Notes
- If using frozen figs, make sure they are defrosted and drained first so that you don't have excessive liquid in you fig bread, which would cause it to sink in the middle.
- Folding the walnuts into the flour coats them with flour and keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the fig bread.
- The figs should be chopped coarsely. You want big chunks of figs in the bread.
- Since oven temperatures vary, test with a toothpick to make sure it's cooked all the way through.
- During fig season, I chop the figs and add them to small ziplock bags in one cup portions. I then keep them in the freezer to use throughout the year when I'm craving fig bread.
- You can also make this bread by replacing one of the eggs with half of a ripe banana. It makes an even moister cake/bread.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Heather, I love the changes you made and am glad it still turned out great. Thank you for the review!
Heather says
I made a double batch today. I used half of the sugar and had dried diced figs so I soaked them in half cointreau and half water for a hour. I also incorporated 1/4 cup of the water/cointreau mix and reduced the milk. This recipe is so excellent. This recipe will never disappoint anyone.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi KK,
Finally, someone who trusts the chef, LOL, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the fig bread. Save me a slice!
Kk says
I read all the modifications people posted, but this recipe is delicious as is! The only thing I changed was, because I didn't read the recipe carefully, I used large eggs. loved this easy recipe
Hilda Sterner says
You did just fine as far as commenting, it went through no problem. You have me salivating with all the wonderful things you have in store. Thank you for the review!