Given a whole bag of fig leaf by my friend, I was so excited to bake with it. Weeks ago, when my friend proudly showed me this year’s big harvest of black fig from their backyard, I couldn’t take my eyes off the large, green, deeply lobed leaves in the background
“Fig Leaves?! You eat the leaves?” she asked when I mentioned them.
A week later, she returned with a gift,
“Let me know if you want more, we need to cut them off anyways.” she handed me a full bag of fresh fig leaves, still carrying the mark of dried fig pulp and seeds. I felt like I was holding a bag of new flavors, just waiting to be baked into something unexpected.
This Fig Leaf Cake is my seasonal variation on my Osmanthus Olive Oil Cake. The herbal-coconut-vanilla-like note comes alive twice in this recipe, first infused into the cake batter, and again in a glossy syrup that soaks into the crumb. The recipe of fig leaf syrup and fig leaf sugar are adapted from Edd Kimber’s recipes shared on The Boy Who Bakes. These simple infusions transform the leaves from backyard greenery into a seasonal pastry ingredient.
You might also like Sesame Passion Fruit Cake or Dubai Chocolate Maritozzo.
Jump to:
What is fig leaf?
Fig leaf has appeared in Michelin-starred pastry and indie bakeries for some time already, but it has been getting even more attention on social media this year. The leaves come from the common fig tree (Ficus carica), the same tree that gives us the sweet black or green figs you see in summer, Fresh fig leaves smell grassy and green, almost like the fruit itself, but once heated, it turns into a vanilla coconut fragrance similar to pandan leaf. In baking, fig leaves are rarely eaten directly. Instead, they’re infused into milk, cream, or syrups to capture that distinctive flavor.
Ingredients of Fig Leaf Cake
- Fig Leaf - I got mine from a good friend’s backyard.
- Granulated Sugar - Sugar is used in the cake itself and the syrup. Through testing, I learned that fig leaf’s flavor blooms most during heating. When I dried the leaves to make fig leaf sugar, much of their fragrance faded away. But in syrup, where the leaves are gently simmered and infused, the aroma holds beautifully in the finished cake.
- Oil - I use avocado oil here. Using extra virgin olive oil is also a good option.
- Milk - Whole milk, low-fat milk or any plant milk works.
- Almond Flour - Almond flour is my secret to get a really moist cake, you can also try other kinds of nut flour, such as hazelnut flour or pistachio flour for even nuttier flavor.
- All Purpose Flour - I use all purpose flour. If you want a lighter texture, you can replace with cake flour.
- Dried Fig - Adding dried fig is optional, but I highly recommend adding it for better texture. I used Amphora organic soft dried fig. They are very tender and ready to eat, but you can replace them by soaking the normal dried fig in hot water before using.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Fig Leaf Sugar?
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Wash the fig leaves and pat them dry with kitchen towels. Cut the stems off. Place the fig leaves onto baking sheets.
Dry the fig leaves by baking at 300°F for 10-12 minutes. Let the leaves cool fully before grinding.
Break the leaves into pieces and grind them up in a food processor or grinder. Sift the fig leaf powder to remove any string and tough fiber. Stir the fig leaf powder with granulated sugar.
This is optional. Mix some fig leaf powder with flaky sea salt.
How to make Fig Leaf Syrup?
The process is very similar to making osmanthus syrup. Break fig leaves into pieces. Add sugar, water and fig leaves into a pot.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn off the heat and let it infuse with the remaining heat on the stove for at least 10 minutes. Pass the syrup through a sieve to remove the leaves.
How to make Fig Leaf Cake?
Cut dried figs into smaller pieces. Prepare silicon cake pan or baking pans lined with parchment paper. I use small cake pan, so the baking time is shorter than baking in a big cake pan. Preheat the oven to 360°F. (350°F if your oven is convection oven)
Mix eggs, oil and milk with a whisk. Make sure everything is combined. Mix the fig leaf sugar and egg mixture.
Sift in the dry ingredients including all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Fold gently.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan, add the toppings, and bake at 360°F for 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Brush lots fig leaf syrup on the cake while the cake is still hot or quickly dip the cake in the fig leaf syrup. Top with optional fig leaf salt.
Equipment
The small square molds are from amazon. I love to bake brownies and small cakes in them.
I use the electric grinder to grind up the fig leaves. Of course you can also use a food processor or Vitamix.
A silicon spatula is the most useful tool for baking. Get the seamless one so it is easy to clean and also prevent bacteria from growing.
Storage
Similar to Osmanthus Olive Oil Cake, Fig Leaf Cake with syrup can stay in the room-temp for 3 days. And it will still be very moist on the third day I promise. Just make sure you store the cake in a airtight container.
The cake batter can be stored in the fridge for 5 days.
If you want to store the baked cake for a long time, after brush the syrup, wrap with plastic wrap and leave it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost and microwave for 30 seconds before serving.
Recipe Tips
Don’t press your toppings into the batter! When adding the topping onto the batter, just scatter them lightly on the surface. The toppings will naturally sink a little as the cake bakes, so there’s no need to force them in.
Let the cake rest! The best timing to enjoy Fig Leaf Cake is actually the second day. The cake crumb can be soggy right after it’s baked and soaked in the syrup. The flavor deepens after a few hours (or even overnight).
Recipe FAQ
According to Edd Kimber, “A good indicator that the leaves are almost ready is when the edges of the leaves have curled up.” Another indicator for me is when you start smelling the sweet toasty smell, this is the fig leaf essence being released. Also the leaf should snap or crack when bent. If it still feels leathery, there’s moisture inside.
Adding nuts is also a good option. Nut like sliced almond, chopped walnut, pistachio. Fig leaf has a delicate flavor — pair it with neutral bases like olive oil, almonds, dairy, vanilla, rather than strong spices, so it doesn’t get lost.
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe Card
Fig Leaf Cake
Ingredients
Fig Leaf Sugar
- 4 fig leaf
- 200 g granulated sugar
Fig Leaf Syrup
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 300 g water
- 50 g fig leaf
Fig Leaf Cake
- all fig leaf sugar
- 4 egg
- 140 g avocado oil or EVOO
- 50 g milk
- 140 g all-purpose flour
- 60 g almond flour
- 5 g baking powder 1 ¼ tsp
- 100 g soft dried fig
Optional Fig Leaf Salt
- 2 g Maldon sea salt
- 1 pinch fig leaf powder
Instructions
Make Fig Leaf Sugar
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 300°F. Wash the fig leaves and pat them dry with kitchen towels. Cut the stems off. Place the fig leaves onto baking sheets.
- Dehydrate: Dry the fig leaves by baking at 300°F for 10-12 minutes. Let the leaves cool fully before grinding.
- Powder: Break the leaves into pieces and grind them up in a food processor or grinder.
- Sift: Sift the fig leaf powder to remove any string and tough fiber.
- Mix: Stir the fig leaf powder with granulated sugar.
Make Fig Leaf Syrup
- Cook: Break fig leaves into pieces. Bring sugar, water and fig leaves to a boil in a pot.
- Infuse: Turn off the heat and let it infuse with the remaining heat on the stove for at least 10 minutes.
- Strain: Pass the syrup through a sieve to remove the leaves.
Make Fig Leaf Cake
- Prep: Prepare silicon cake pan or baking pans lined with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 360°F. (350°F if your oven is convection oven)
- Mix: Mix eggs, oil and milk with a whisk. Make sure everything is combined.
- Mix: Mix the fig leaf sugar and egg mixture.
- Mix: Sift in the dry ingredients including all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Fold gently.
- Bake: Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan, and bake at 360°F for 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. I use small silicon molds, so the baking time is shorter than baking in a big pan.
- Brush: Brush lots fig leaf syrup on the cake while the cake is still hot or quickly dip the cake in the fig leaf syrup.
Sharon says
The smell of fig leaf is so refreshing!
Harriet Bisson says
Can you confirm that you really mean 300gms water for the syrup rather than 300 ml - 300ml doesn't cover 50g of fig leaves - also shoudl he fi leaves for the syrup be fresh or dried?