Go Back

Upside-down pistachio and fig cake

This upside-down pistachio cake with figs is a delicate, lovely, moist teacake. Perfect for parties, afternoon teas, anniversaries, Valentine’s day and other special occasions. I made it with dairy-free spread and gluten-free flour would work too. I only used 150g sugar, as I don’t like really sweet cakes, but do add 50-75g more to the batter if you have a sweet tooth!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 6 people
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Calories: 1234

Ingredients
  

  • 150 g butter or dairy free margarine
  • 2 oranges juiced
  • 200 g muscovado sugar
  • 6-8 figs
  • 150 g pistachio kernels
  • 3 eggs
  • 200 g self-raising flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Grease a cake tin and line the base with parchment paper.
  3. Cut 30g butter/margarine into cubes and put in a small pan and melt it over a low heat. Stir in the juice of 1 orange and 50g of sugar. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 8 minutes until you get a thick but not too sticky syrup. Pour this into the base of the lined tin.
  4. Cut the figs into 0.5 cm slices, then line the bottom of the tin with them, covering the syrup. You can add a second layer, if you like, overlapping the first one.
  5. Put the pistachios in a food processor and whizz until finely ground. Add the remaining butter (cubed), eggs, sugar and orange juice. You can add the grated zest of 1 orange, if it’s organic. Whizz again for a few seconds, until just combined, then move it to a large bowl. Sieve in the flour, baking powder and bicarb. Gently stir until you get a smooth batter, then tip it into the cake tin, over the figs, spreading it out evenly.
  6. Put the tin on a baking tray (the syrup might leak) and bake in the middle of the oven for 45-50 minutes until golden and cooked through (check it with a skewer – insert it into the cake, if it comes out clean, it’s done). Leave it in the tin for 10 minutes to cool, then carefully turn the cake out onto a cooling rack.
  7. Peel off the parchment paper and let it cool completely.