Coffee cake is made for brunch. Fig Orange Bundt Cake is fresh with juicy citrus, plump chewy figs, and redolent with spice, topped with a nutty streusel over the top. Brew a pot of coffee or set a kettle to boil for hot tea, here’s how to make this fig cake recipe. Find the recipe below and tip on how to bake in a tube pan or bundt.
All in on This Fig Cake Recipe
Either Sun-Maid and Orchard Choice California Figs would be beautiful in this cake, so consider the flavor, color, and availability as you decide which kind of fig to use. Deep purple Mission Figs are the ones most associated with the lush flavor of the fruit. Oranges and Mission Figs are delightful together and match up in Spiced Fig Hot Toddys. Amber hued, Golden Figs, on the other hand bring a delicate fruit flavor, are lightly nutty and a little tangy, leaning into the subtle floral notes of citrus naturally.
Easy Streusel for Orange Bundt Cake
A streusel topping rubs cold butter into flour mixed with sugar. From there, you can add in other ingredients for crunch and flavor. This includes pecans, toasted to awaken a deeper nuttiness as well as oats, adding another texture. In a food processor, you’ll pulverize all of the ingredients until fine, which makes this part as easy as the flick of a button.
Ways to Orange Cake with Figs
There are many ways to making an orange cake. This fig cake recipe mixes orange zest into the figs as the final step before folding them into the batter. It’s a subtle citrus cake.
To increase the orange flavor in the cake, consider adding ¼ – ½ teaspoon of orange extract. Or, if you prefer more of a creamsicle flavor, consider ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon of orange extract. Add the extract at the same time you add the eggs to the orange cake recipe below.
Another way to bump up the fruity flavor would be to make an orange glaze using fresh orange juice and powdered sugar. Making orange glaze this way doesn’t need a recipe exactly, but would involve adding a dash of fresh orange juice to 1 cup of powdered sugar, whisking and adding juice with a restrained hand until the glaze drips satisfyingly, or coats the back of a wooden spoon. One final thought here would be to mix in orange zest into the glaze for a pop of color and extra citrus flavor. Then, you would need the patience required to let the orange glaze harden.
Finally, a twist—because this fig cake recipe is going to be one you will want to keep in your back hip pocket to bake throughout the year—swap in blood orange in place of orange for a different taste (and should you decide to make it into a glaze, it will be a pretty pop of pink drizzled over the top).
Bundt Pan and Tube Cake Pan Tip for This Fig Cake Recipe
For a clean release of the cake from the pan, make sure to both grease and flour the pan before you start baking.
Make the Cake Mix
We always suggest whisking the dry ingredients of the cake mix on their own in a separate bowl—in this case that would be the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. This ensures that the leavener is fully incorporated into the cake batter and it also helps aerate the flour for a lighter cake. Set the bowl aside.
Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy. This will add structure to your cake.
The eggs go in next, beaten one at a time until fully combined. (This is also where you could add that dash of orange extract or vanilla extract should you desire it.
You will add in 3 rounds of cake mix, alternating with 2 rounds of buttermilk. Once this is done, stir in the figs and orange zest.
Next you will want to spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle on half of the streusel, which will create a ribbon of flavor upon slicing into the orange bundt cake. Finally layer on the remaining cake batter, leveling it until even and then sprinkling on the remaining streusel before baking.
Fig Orange Bundt Cake with Streusel
Ingredients
Streusel
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cups pecans
- 1/4 cups brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cups butter cold
Cake
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California Figs stemmed and coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp orange zest grated
Instructions
Streusel
- Preheat oven the 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Combine all ingredients for streusel in food processor. Pulse just until chunky (or chop nuts and mix with other ingredients). Set aside.
Cake
- Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Add to butter mixture alternating with buttermilk making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of buttermilk. Stir in figs and zest. Spread half of batter in prepared pan; sprinkle with half the streusel. Spread remaining batter on top; sprinkle with remaining streusel.
- Bake in center of 350°F oven for 50-60 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes, then remove and serve warm or cool.
