This is quite possibly my favourite out of the cake recipes I’ve developed over the years. It reminds me of those good old fashioned date rolls made by the CWA ladies you could buy at the local fundraiser cake stall (and you could totally sub the figs for dates if you prefer that flavour).

But for me, it’s all about the ginger. I love ginger, especially the crystallised form you’ll find in this cake. It adds a sweetness, but also gives pops of warmth and spice. Trust me when I tell you that a slice of this loaf – slathered in butter of course – is the perfect afternoon tea treat with a strong cup of tea.

The photos on this post are really not blog-worthy. I never intended this to be a recipe I would blog; it was simply an experiment to fulfil a hankering I had for a ginger-flavoured cake. But it was so delicious I had to share it, dodgy pics and all!

Fig and Ginger Loaf

200g dried figs (approx 10 figs), chopped

80g (1/2 cup) crystallised ginger, chopped if chunks are large

2 tsp bicarbonate soda

1 cup boiling water

100g melted butter

2 eggs

1/4 cup rapadura sugar

2 cups wholemeal spelt flour

2 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan-forced). Grease and line a large loaf tin.
2. Combine figs, ginger, bicarb and water in a small bowl and leave to soak for about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together melted butter, eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl.
4. Add fig and ginger mixture, plus flour and baking powder. Mix until combined.
5. Pour into lined loaf tin and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Cool the loaf on a rack. But if you can’t resist, then dive right in and slice and butter some while it’s warm!

Note: I made this using delicious dried figs and crystalised ginger I ordered from The Wholefood Collective. They have an amazing range of wholefood ingredients (including the spelt flour and rapadura sugar I used). And the best part is that they are organic and preservative free. Since most conventional dried fruit has had sulphites added as a preservative, which can trigger our asthma, we choose to avoid these and go for organic, preservative free products instead.

Enjoy!