Lemon Fig Cake with Nectarine

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This fig cake is flavored with lemon and features juicy nectarines for a fragrant, fruity dessert. The simple batter comes together quickly for an easy entertaining cake.

This recipe has been retested and updated since first posting September 2015.

This fig cake is a bit surprising. There’s no baking powder or soda, so while it doesn’t rise into a fluffy cake with airy crumb, what happens instead is just as delicious.

If you’ve ever had an almond cake, this is very similar.

The edges firm up while the interior remains quite moist and tender. It’s more dense than you might expect, but the perfect complement to the figs and nectarines studded in the top. With the addition of lemon juice and lemon zest, this is one fragrant and elegant cake!

I love how fancy it looks even though it is very easy to make. It’s perfect with a light dusting of powdered sugar, but you can also scoop up some vanilla ice cream to go on the side.

The cake holds its own with the ice cream, for a wonderful spoonful of combined flavors and textures. It’s one of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh figs!

Ingredients for fig cake

Full list of ingredients including quantities is located in the recipe card.

You’ll need:

• Granulated sugar
• Large eggs
• Unsalted butter – The butter needs to be melted and cooled, so make sure to melt the butter before gathering the rest of the ingredients. You don’t want the butter to cook the eggs!
• Vanilla extract
• Lemons – This recipe uses both lemon zest and lemon juice. I always recommend grabbing more lemons than the recipe calls for, in case they are small or not very juicy.
• All purpose flour
• Nectarine – Make sure the nectarine is ripe, but not too soft. You want to be able to cut it into nice slices.
• Fresh figs – Any variety of fig will do. I use Brown Turkey figs, which are the most commonly available.
• Breadcrumbs – For dusting the pan. You can use flour if you prefer.

How to make this recipe

Slice your fruit and set aside. I cut the figs into quarters, and the nectarine into about 16 thin slices. 

When making this cake, you don’t need to worry about peeling the fruit. I almost never peel peaches or nectarines, because the peels melt into the cake batter a bit. You can peel the nectarines if you want, but it’s really not needed.

Lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with butter or nonstick spray, then add breadcrumbs and tap around to coat. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a mixing bowl and hand mixer, combine the sugar and eggs and beat on high until blended and very creamy, about 2 minutes.

Beat in the melted butter and vanilla.

Zest 1 lemon to yield 1 tablespoon zest, then juice the lemons to yield 1/3 cup juice. Beat the zest into the batter.

Mix together the flour and salt, then alternate adding the flour and the lemon juice to the batter, mixing on low speed to fully incorporate. 

Pour the batter into the springform pan and smooth the top as needed. Gently press in the fig and nectarine slices, arranging them randomly or in a pattern as desired. Depending on the size of your fruit, you might not fit it all in the cake.

Bake the cake on the middle rack for 55-60 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then run a thin spatula around the edges, remove the springform ring, and carefully slide the cake off the bottom onto a wire rack.

Cool the cake completely, then sprinkle with powdered sugar to serve.

Recipe suggestions

This cake can be made gluten-free using a gluten-free all-purpose blend and gluten-free breadcrumbs.

If you don’t like figs you can leave them out and just use more nectarines, or vice versa.

For a glossy top, brush the warm cake with a bit of apricot jam mixed with water.

Swap in seasonal fruit to make this cake all year long, such as in Strawberry Lemonade Cake. I know I’ll keep making versions of this cake for years to come.

The cake keeps well, unrefrigerated, for up to three days, but I doubt it will last that long!