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Fig Almond Cake with Whisky: Perfect for Christmas

ByChoclette
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This light Christmas or New Year fruit cake is made with almonds and figs soaked in a cheeky dram or three of whisky. Bake it a few days before needed or right at the last minute.  Even traditional Christmas cake haters are likely to enjoy this delicious fig almond cake.

Fig Almond Christmas Cake.

Yes I know Christmas is still a few weeks away, but Stir-up-Sunday is fast approaching. It falls on the Sunday before Advent which is the 22nd November this year. It’s traditionally the day when the Christmas puddings and cakes are made and when the family all take a turn at stirring, not forgetting to make that all important wish whilst they’re at it.

So to get you in the mood and to offer a little inspiration for your Christmas baking, I made this fig almond cake yesterday with a very cheeky slug or three of whisky – Whisky Galore.

Spanish Pan de Figos

For those not in the know, pan de figos is a pressed fig and almond wheel commonly found in Spain. It actually means fig bread in Spanish, but it actually consists of fruit and nuts only. There’s no grain involved.

Fig Almond Christmas Cake.

My aunt, who lives in Spain sends me one for Christmas most years. I look forward to it with anticipation. It’s delicious on its own or with a slice of Manchego, or any other cheese for that matter.

Last year I made this fig and mincemeat cake for Christmas and it was so delicious that when Waitrose challenged me to make a Christmas cake with a twist this year, I knew immediately I wanted to make one with figs and almonds as the principle flavourings. And I was going to use some of the pan de figos I hadn’t finished from the previous year.

Whisky, The Water of Life

Figs and almonds are traditional Mediterranean ingredients that go together very well. They’re often combined with honey. The bees can buzz off this time though as I wanted to use a British tipple instead. CT recently returned from Scotland but for some unknown reason, he forgot to bring any whisky back with him. Luckily a trip to our local Waitrose sorted out this water of life deficiency. It was important, as I wanted it for my fig almond cake.

Fig Almond Cakes

Fig Almond Cake

As always with my bakes, I like to make them as healthy as possible. I’ve used wholemeal flour with real butter and muscovado sugar in this one. The figs, almonds and eggs are all nutrient rich and the whisky? Hey, it’s Christmas.

And don’t worry about that pan de figos, I’ve separated out the figs and the almonds in the recipe below. So unless you fancy a quick trip to Spain, you don’t need any special ingredients.

My fig almond cake is a flexible sort of a bake. You can make it up to two weeks before you need it, although it’s just as good if you make it the day before. Having said that, if you can soak the fruit overnight before you need to add it to the cake, so much the better. You don’t have to though.

If you make the cake in advance, wrap it in greaseproof paper un-iced and store in an airtight container. Decorate just before you need it.

Six fig and almond mini bundt cakes.

I made six cheeky mini fig almond cake bundts with a little of the mixture, so that I could try one straight away. It was even more delicious than I thought it would be: moist, slightly sticky and with an occasional crunch from the almonds.

Other Recipes for Fruity Christmas Cakes You Might Like

Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this fig almond cake, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

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If you’d like more Christmas recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.

Choclette x

Fig Almond Cake. PIN IT.

Fig Almond Cake with Whisky.

Figgy Almond Whisky Christmas Cake – The Recipe

Fig Almond Christmas Cake.
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5 from 2 votes

Figgy Almond and Whisky Christmas Cake

This delicious light Christmas or New Year fruit cake is made with almonds and figs soaked in a cheeky dram or three of whisky. It can be baked a few days before needed or right at the last minute.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Soaking Time8 hours
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Afternoon Tea
Cuisine: British
Keyword: almonds, cake, Christmas, figs, New Year, whisky
Servings: 16 slices
Calories: 365kcal
Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

  • 300 g dried figs chopped
  • 6 tbsp whisky + 1 tbsp for the icing
  • 240 g unsalted butter
  • 250 g light muscovado sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 230 g flour half wholemeal, half plain white
  • 100 g ground almonds
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • pinch ground cloves
  • 1 organic orange zest & juice
  • 50 g blanched almonds chopped + a handful left whole to feature on top of the cake
  • 50 g icing sugar
Metric – US Customary

Instructions

  • Soak the figs with the whisky in a covered bowl overnight – even a couple of hours will help.
  • Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in eggs, one at a time, alternating with a spoonful of the flour if necessary.
  • Sift in the flour, almonds, baking powder, bicarb and spices. Stir until just combined.
  • Grate in the orange zest and stir in together with the orange juice.
  • Add the soaked figs and stir until just combined.
  • Oil a large bundt type mould or tin, then place a few almonds on the base. When turned out, these will be on the top of the cake. Spoon the batter on top.
  • Bake at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for about 45 minutes or until the cake is well risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Mix the icing sugar with the remaining whisky and just enough water to make a slightly runny icing. Drizle this over the cooled cake.
  • Add sprinkles as desired.

Notes

For best results, overnight soaking is needed.
Bake in a deep 20 cm (8″) tin instead of a bundt type mould, but you’ll need to add 10-15 minutes to the baking time.
You can easily hive off 6 tbsp of mixture and bake them in muffin tins to create 6 mini Christmas cakes.
If you make the cake in advance, wrap it in greaseproof paper un-iced and store in an airtight container. Decorate just before you need it.
Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 365kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 45mg | Potassium: 318mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 453IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below letting us know how you got on and do share a photo on Instagram. Tag @choclette8 or use hashtag #tinandthyme.
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Linkies

I’m sending this recipe off to Love Cake with JibberJabberUK. The theme is Best of British. And although the inspiration for this fig almond cake came from the Mediterranean, nothing is more British than a fruity Christmas cake, especially when it has as much whisky in as this one does.

Having made some mini bundt cakes from the recipe, I am joining in with Cook Once Eat Twice over at Searching for Spice.

As I mentioned earlier getting a fig and almond wheel for Christmas has become a bit of a family tradition. So I hope that’s not too tenuous a link for this month’s Inheritance Recipes which is Festive Foods. This is hosted alternately by Coffee & Vanilla and Pebble Soup.

And my figgy almond whisky cake also goes to Kerry Cooks for Christmas Cake Club.

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5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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52 Comments

  2. Gorgeous! Thank you for entering it into Cake Club! From above it almost looks like stripes of silver and gold – very festive!

    Reply

  6. I particularly like the silver strands down the cake. I would definitely make this my Xmas pud. So much lighter after a feast thank you for linking to #Inheritance recipes & good luck

    Reply

  7. Thank you for submitting this flavoursome recipe to our Inheritance Recipes challenge, it fits in perfectly. I have filling someone will have very hard decision to make 🙂

    Reply

  8. This looks so beautiful & dried figs I adore. I have them in my Christmas cake (soaking at the mo) this year. I want to make this cake especially as hubby loves Whisky. Beautiful cake & blend of flavours. Sammie 🙂

    Reply

  10. I can smell it now with all the spices and dried fruit in it. I’ve left my Christmas cake with my father so he can feed it with his malt whisky! I always love the shape of a Bundt cake as gives a natural elegance.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Ness. I’m a recent convert to whisky in cakes and now I think it’s the best. I’m also a big fan of bundt type cakes as they need little if anything in the way of decoration.

      Reply

  11. that really does look like a lovely cake… i’ve just been developing a chocolate carrot cake for an alternative christmas cake but your bundt could also easily be a great alternative and has all those healthy wholemeal ingredients too! Divine stuff!

    Reply

  12. This cake looks good! I have never made a proper Christmas cake like yours. In Italy we always have panettone or pandoro but I am also very fond of the British rich Christmas cakes. Figs and almonds… sound like a heavely combination!

    Reply

    1. Thanks Alida. Well a good panettone is rather delicious so I’m not surprised that’s what you stick to. This cake isn’t a traditional rich fruit cake which I generally find a bit too much of a good thing. This is much lighter and I reckon, much nicer 😉

      Reply

    1. I’m not sure how long it would last Gill, definitely a week and probably two. I’ve not tried freezing it, but cake usually works well in the freezer, so I don’t see why this wouldn’t.

      Reply

  14. Not too early to be thinking about Christmas cakes! I’ve already made my traditional one but there’s still time to make other festive cakes before the big day. I’m sure my family would like a slice of this sooner rather than later 😉
    Love how you’ve done the icing on this cake.

    Reply

  15. How lovely to have pan de figos sent to you each year Choclette, just as lovely as this festive cake (and nah, its never too early to get a march on Stir Up Sunday!)

    Reply

  16. I love figs, and almonds! This cake looks delicious, I may just leave the recipe conveniently around my mums kitchen as a little hint for xmas baking!

    Reply

  19. It looks stunning, a fantastic centrepiece and sounds like it might taste heavenly. What was CT thinking?He won’t return empty handed next time for fear of being named and shamed again.

    Reply

  21. It pains be that its November and we are all talking about Christmas – but hey, I better get used to it. This looks like a delicious cake and I adore dried figs and the flavour they give – brilliantly different Christmas cake recipe!

    Reply

    1. Ah I feel your pain Ceri, but gone are the days when I adamantly refused to mention the C word before December! I love figs too and it’s nice to have a cake where they are the main event.

      Reply

  24. This sounds delicious! It almost makes me wish I needed to bake a Christmas cake myself, but my family don’t really like fruit cakes, even light ones like this. If I didn’t make a chocolate or ginger cake at Christmas there would be uproar!

    Reply

    1. Haha Suelle, you’ve got to keep the family happy, especially at Christmas. But you could always quarter the recipe and make yourself a small one, or even a few mini ones for the freezer.

      Reply