Joy the Baker

Simple Fig and Mascarpone Cake

by 42 Comments

If we’re paying attention to the small milestones (and good grief- WE ARE), it’s been just over two years that I’ve had a backyard.  It’s an anniversary of sorts (but really not at all).

The backyard is still partly graveled, with hopes of future raised beds.  I still battle the weeds – but there are moments of such sweetness.  Earlier this spring the gardenias made me think of my grandmother ever morning.  Earlier this spring the orange blossoms had me and the bees drunk in love.  My magnolia tree offered four glorious blooms.  These days my fig tree is truly an unruly bush with little baby figs doing their best.  The figs are neither big enough nor ripe enough to take off their bush and into the kitchen but they’re present enough to inspire some deep affection for the figs I’ve found at the grocery.  

The sweetest thing about my backyard as of late is the big brown dog named Maggie that I get to play with in that space.  Gosh, leave it to a dog to make a backyard really feel like a backyard.  And, in what is no surprise to me, her favorite place to rest, and chill, and hide her ball from me is under the fig bush.  Well done sweet girl, Imma go make a cake. 

This cake is in a class of what I like to call Everyday Cakes.  

They’re simple buttermilk cakes, single layer, baked thick and golden. They can be dolled up and stripped bare.  Let it be about what you have in the pantry and in the fruit bowl.  

In particular this cake shines with buttermilk, fig jam, mascarpone (totally optional but a sweet addition), and fresh figs.  

We’ll start by whisking together the wet ingredients + granulated sugar.

Eggs and sugar whipped to glossy.  

We’ll add melted butter and vanilla extract and whisk to smooth.  

All of the liquids will help the sugars dissolve and disperse through the cake so it’s best to add the sugar here instead of with the dry ingredients. It’s very loose cake science. 

Buttermilk is my preferred dairy for this cake.  

I love the tartness.  I love that the slight bit of acid helps boost the baking soda’s good work.  

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, feel free to mix a few good spoonfuls of yogurt or sour cream mixed with whole milk.  (There’s also this list of stellar buttermilk substitutions here!) 

We’ll add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt directly to the top of the wet ingredients.  

And let the whisk do the good working of bringing the batter together.  

Whisk until smooth – get your elbow into it! 

The batter will be thick and smooth.  Almost pourable.  Mostly spoonable. 

The key to an Everyday Cake is its thickness.  I think an 8-inch round with 3-inch tall sides works really well for this endeavor.  I suggest you take my advice but then again I’m totally biased.

On top of the cake we’ll dollop fig jam, and honey-sweetened mascarpone.  

We fancy, but also… let it be as fancy as your pantry is at the moment.  Let cake be cake. 

Use a knife to lightly swirl the jam and mascarpone topping into the cake batter, leaving lots of visible bits on top.  

And lightly press fresh figs into the top of the batter.  

The buttermilk batter is sturdy enough to support most of the weight of the figs and jam, leaving them visible on top of the cake as it bakes to golden brown.  Give it a long bake – at least 45 minutes in that 8-inch pan.  Sit tight.  Brew some coffee – a suggestion. 

This cake is sturdy.  This cake happens to be exactly what you need it to be. Tender, lightly sweet, moist, thick, fruited, and jammed.  It doesn’t need frosting, barely needs powdered sugar, always needs whipped cream and it’s just the kind of cake you want under a cake done every day of the week. 

I love you.  More soon.  

Print
Simple Fig and Mascarpone Cake

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
  • 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1/3 - 1/2 cup fig jam
  • 4 fresh figs, halved

Instructions

  1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch wide and 3-inch tall cake pan and lightly dust with flour.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, butter, eggs, and buttermilk. Whisk in the vanilla or almond extract.
  4. Add the buttermilk mixture all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined and no lumps remain. Spoon batter into the prepared pan.
  5. In a small bowl stir together the honey and mascarpone. Dollop the mixture atop the cake batter. Dollop jam on top of the cake batter as well and use a butterknife to lightly swirl the two into the cake. Dot with fresh figs, gently pressing not the cake batter.
  6. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool to room temperature before slicing to serve. Serve plain or with sweetened whipped cream.
  7. Cake will last, well wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.
https://joythebaker.com/2018/08/simple-fig-and-mascarpone-cake/

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Harriet Giordano

    I actually overbake the outside because the middle was raw. I think the honey made my mascarpone too
    Thin, It was too liquidy. But it tasted good. Whipped up remaining mascarpone with some confectioners sugar and vanilla. Put a dollop and a fresh fig on top.

    Reply

  2. Lisa

    Little (friendly and respectful) criticism from my side:
    I made this cake yesterday and even though it turned out quite good, it didn’t look like your pictures or fit your description. I think, the problem was that the instruction you wrote into the recipe are not the same as shown in the pictures. Like, in the pictures you show a step by step mixing of all the wet ingredients, while the instructions state to just mix them all at once.
    And, of course, I could have just looked at the pictures. But I didn’t think that was necessary. I think, baking instructions should be absolutely clear and direct as you can just mess up so much (like I did).

    Anyway, even messed up, the cake was still pretty awesome and I will definitely make it again following the picture instructions :)

    Reply

  3. Robin L

    Made this last weekend with what I had on hand. Peaches tossed in flour to absorb juices, no jam, increased sugar by ~ 1/4 cup, cream cheese with pure maple syrup. Excellent and forgiving. Going in the cake roatation. Thank you Joy!

    Reply

  4. Catherine

    Thoughts on using sour cream instead of mascarpone? I know it’s not as thick, but it’s what I have in my fridge so I’m spitballing here since I have everything else at home right now!

    Reply

  6. Laurie

    I’ve made this cake twice already and it’s delicious. If anyone has to have a gluten free cake, this recipe works perfectly with King Arthur’s Measure to Measure flour. I have a family member who is allergic to wheat so I needed a gluten free cake. No one had a clue that it was gluten free until I told them. Thanks Joy for another wonderful recipe!

    Reply

  10. Lori

    This was delicious! I used a springform pan and let it cool about 15 minutes before removing the outer ring. I removed neatly and the cake looked gorgeous.
    I think when figs aren’t available, it might be just as good with pears and pear butter, or slightly sauteed apples and apple butter.

    Reply

  12. Sina

    Hi Joy,
    I made this cake yesterday and it was wonderful! I love figs and I love a simple cake and – I made a mistake. Which was that I went ahead, printed the recipe and didn’t take a closer look at the step-by-step-pictures and explanations… So afterwards, as I was wondering why my cake was somewhat different I found two differences between the step-by-step and the print-version of the recipe:
    1) in step 3 of the print-version it simply says “(…) whisk together sugar, butter, eggs and buttermilk”. But in the step-by-step-version it’s specified: first sugar and eggs until glossy, second butter and vanilla and whisk until smooth, lastly the buttermilk. I totally get that this gives a much more “defined” texture, so to speak, which my batter was lacking.
    2) in step 4 of the print-version it says to pour the wet ingredients into the dry – in the step-by-step-version it says the opposite! And we are also encouraged to whisk the batter quite a bit, which I didn’t really get from the print-version of the recipe.
    Due to this two differences my batter turned out very liquid, not thick at all. Therefore, mascarpone, fig jam and figs all sunk in immediately, and it took 20 minutes more in the oven. It was absolutely delicous nonetheless and I will make it again – properly.
    But, please, would it be possible to include the specifications in the print version of the recipe? I think it would be super helpful! Thank you! Sina

    Reply

  13. Maria

    This cake was SO good, although when I made it I felt like the batter came out thicker then intended? Maybe I over-mixed, HELP

    Reply

  15. Sooz

    Ahhh! I just made this with cup4cup gluten free flour and it is absolutely heavenly –that batter! those figs! that honeyed marscarpone! This is the. best. cake. period.

    Reply

  18. Kasey

    Best combo ever. Had it in gelato form (in Italy) and I will never be the same. This will be the next best thing. Thank you.

    Reply

  20. Stacey

    I have a handful of fresh figs picked early this morning that are just begging to be pressed into this cake! Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply

  21. Cyndi

    Wow – figs together with mascarpone! In a cake! And it’s easy! I even have everything for it in my kitchen right now, except for the fresh figs, which are gorgeous and plentiful at my corner store. I even have fig jam, bought just last week for a weekend wine and cheese I hosted (bought two jars because it’s so popular with cheese). I also have the eight inch round tall cake pan. What I don’t have however is a knack for removing cakes so nicely as the way you have, Joy, from that pan. Any tips/tricks for that besides the butter and dusting of flour that you could share? Thank you for this recipe, Joy!

    Reply

    • Cyndi

      Would anyone else by any chance have any tips for removing a dense cake such as this from an 8-inch wide and 3-inch tall cake pan? Thank you :).

      Reply

  22. Kelsey

    I need to see Maggie! (Please. And thank you. Not trying to be demanding about your dog, just a little overexcited. I like dogs… and I really like Tron so I applaud your taste in pets already)

    Reply

      • Michelle C.

        Use a round of parchment at the bottom of the pan. Butter pan. Butter parchment. When cake is done cooking and you remove it from the oven, run a knife around the inside to prevent sticking to the sides during cooling. Should come out no problem.

        Reply

  25. deb preston

    Dear Joy: I want you to know that I just love you. Your posts brighten many of my days (and I’m in general, a pretty chipper gal) and the Sundays give me intellectual and spiritual nourishment as well. At this point I’ve tired of reading the chitchat in most cooking blogs, but never yours. Don’t know how you get it all done. Thank you for providing a crucial public service! Love the new photo, btw . . .

    Reply

  26. Sarah

    I have to be grain free, so I used my favorite grain free cake recipe. Everything else I left unchanged. Can you say birthday cake. Mine is in a month. This cake will look great with those ridiculous birthday candles from my kids. I can imagine this cake changing as different fruits come in season. Thanks so much for another wonderful recipe.

    Reply

  27. Paula

    My first dog used to love to dig herself a hole for chillin under the fig tree at our old house. Dogs always know the best resting places (or turn uncanny spots into the best resting places). It sounds like Maggie is settling in well! And this cake looks like a perfect summer-transitioning-to-fall treat — even if it will still feel like summer for a few more months.

    Reply

  31. Ashley

    When fresh figs and mascarpone are involved I’m for sure going to love it. And frosting on cakes is so overrated. Whipped cream instead please!

    Reply

  33. Ramona

    Oh my goodness! You’re bringing back so many memories of South Texas, the figs, the gardenias, oh and the magnolia trees! Ok, I have to bake this cake for my grandsons! Thank you, Joy!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll Up