Greek Island Fig & Walnut Olive-Oil Snack Cake
Moist olive-oil cake studded with late-summer figs and toasted walnuts, sweetened lightly with honey and Greek yogurt.
Best for Heart-smart snack with nuts, fruit, modest sugar
A rustic, late-summer snack cake inspired by the Greek islands: bright lemon and honey meet lush figs, crunchy walnuts and olive oil for a tender crumb. The signature technique is creating fruit pockets — fig halves set into the batter so each slice has a juicy pocket of fruit. Modest sugar, whole-grain flour and yogurt give it substance so it works for breakfast, tea or a healthier dessert.
Ingredients
- 150 g Plain Greek yogurt
- 70 ml olive oil
- 40 g honey , plus extra for glazing (optional)
- 2 large eggs , room temperature
- 5 ml Vanilla extract
- 1 lemon , zest of 1 lemon (juice used for optional glaze)
- 120 g whole wheat pastry flour , lightly spooned and leveled
- 100 g all-purpose flour , lightly spooned and leveled
- 8 g Baking powder , about 2 tsp
- 3 g fine sea salt , about 1/2 tsp
- 260 g fresh ripe figs , about 6–8 figs, stems trimmed and halved
- 100 g walnuts , toast briefly before mixing
- 15 g walnuts (optional – can be omitted)
- 20 g honey for glaze , mixed with 5 ml lemon juice, warmed (optional) (optional – can be omitted)
- 5 ml lemon juice for glaze , about 1 tsp (optional – can be omitted)
Instructions
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1
Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and line a 23 cm (9-inch) round cake pan with parchment, leaving an overhang for easy lift-out.
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2
Toast the walnuts: spread the walnuts on a small baking sheet and toast in the preheating oven until fragrant and slightly darkened, about 7 minutes; cool and chop coarsely.
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3
Whisk dry ingredients: in a medium bowl, whisk together whole-wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
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4
Make the wet batter: in a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the honey, Greek yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest until smooth. Slowly stream in the olive oil while whisking to form a homogenous batter.
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5
Combine batter: fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with a flexible spatula just until no dry streaks remain; fold in the chopped toasted walnuts so the batter is uniform but not overworked.
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6
Create the fruit pockets: pour half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth an even layer. Arrange the fig halves cut-side down, spaced evenly (about 8–10 pieces); gently press each fig so it sinks a little to form a pocket. Spoon the remaining batter between and around the figs to almost cover them, leaving some fig tips peeking. Sprinkle the optional extra chopped walnuts over the top.
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7
Bake until set and golden: bake at 175°C for 35–45 minutes, rotating once after 25 minutes; cake is done when edges are golden, it starts to pull from the pan and a skewer inserted into the center (away from a fig) comes out with just a few moist crumbs. If a skewer through a fig shows wet jam, test nearby cake instead.
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8
Cool and glaze: let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then lift out and cool another 30 minutes before slicing so the fig pockets set. If using the glaze, warm 20 g honey with 5 ml lemon juice and brush over the warm cake for shine and extra flavor.