Honey Cake with Goat Cheese Frosting and Figs

Figs + goat cheese + honey = amazing flavor combo! Totally got inspired by the gorgeous figs at the farmers market and the honey from my sister’s own backyard for this one.

I love the idea of using unexpected ingredients like goat cheese in a sweet dish. It provides a bit of tanginess to balance out the sweetness of the honey cake and the figs add seasonal flair and loads of beautiful color to this cake. Just take a look at how beautiful and inviting this looks!

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Baking all day

Every year my family takes the last two weeks of summer off for vacation. It’s the best! Certainly gives us something to look forward to all summer and the last few years, the weather has been perfect those weeks. Sometimes we go away for both weeks, usually splitting it up between two different locations and sometimes we stay home one week and go away the other. This year, we got to spend the first week (including my birthday!) in the Catskills with my sister and her family. The weather was cool and rainy most of the time, which was just fine with me and the kids – they got to get dirty playing outside all day and I got to bake all day, everyday with my sister. This honey cake is one of the many recipes we made together.

Shopping Seasonally

Not sure if I’m the only one, but I still don’t know what’s in season when. I’m just now learning all of this. Don’t judge me! To my credit, it can be difficult these days because the supermarkets carry produce that’s out of season much more than in the past. I am on a mission, though, to learn much more about what’s in season when. One obvious way to do this is to google it and/or go to the farmer’s market. I am loving my weekly trips there! I want to buy everything I see and sometimes I do. Just before our trip to my sister’s, I saw these gorgeous figs and bought some, then figured out what to make with them.

Local Ingredients

One of the wonderful things (among many!) about my sister’s house is that they have not one, but two gardens, and they keep bees. How cool is that?! We got to see the bees and the honey they’re busy making. So, you guessed it, we got to use some of their honey from last season in this amazing honey cake. Talk about local ingredients – it doesn’t get any more local than that!

Because Fall is right around the corner, you can adjust the seasonings in this cake to the season or your preference. To make it more Fall-like, try increasing the amount of cloves up to 3 teaspoons. Alternatively, you can eliminate the Fall spices altogether and just use cinnamon and coca powder. Most importantly, you have to give this cake a try – it’ll look beautiful on your counter or table and you’ll enjoy every bite.

If you love cake, check out my Cake Pops recipe for a portable version of a delicious cake treat!

Honey Cake with Goat Cheese Frosting and Figs

I love the idea of using unexpected ingredients like goat cheese in a sweet dish. It provides a bit of tanginess to balance out the sweetness of the honey cake and the figs add seasonal flair and loads of beautiful color to this cake.

• Author: Kim
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: About an hour
• Yield: 16 slices
• Category: Cake
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 3 bags of black tea
• 1 ½ cups water
• 3 cups All-Purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup canola or corn oil
• ¾ cup dark local honey
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 teaspoons ground ginger
• 3 teaspoons cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the Frosting:

• 4 ounces fresh goat cheese, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 4 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 pint fresh figs, quartered or sliced

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a bundt pan and sprinkle with plain, unseasoned breadcrumbs (or flour) to prevent cake from sticking to the pan
2. Steep the tea: Bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil and steep tea for 10-15 minutes until very strong. Remove and discard tea bags. Allow tea to cool slightly while you mix cake batter
3. Make the cake: In a small bowl, stir together flour and baking powder and set aside. In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the sugar and turn mixer on medium speed. Add eggs one at a time until blended. Slowly pour in the oil then add in honey. Turn mixer speed to low and alternate adding flour mixture and tea, beginning and ending with flour. Once flour is fully incorporated, add in spices and salt. Mix in dissolved baking soda on low just until fully incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely before frosting
4. Prepare frosting: In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip together the butter, goat cheese and honey for 1 minute. With mixer off, add in powdered sugar and salt. Turn mixer on low at first to prevent sugar from flying everywhere, then turn speed to medium and mix for 1 minute. Once cake has cooled completely, remove from the pan and spread frosting on top, allowing some to drizzle down the sides and middle. Garnish with figs, slice it up and dig in!

Notes

This cake was inspired by and adapted from Broma Bakery and Maira Kalman.

Keywords: figs, honey cake, honey, goat cheese, goat cheese frosting

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