If you're looking for an indulgent take on a traditional flavour this year, this is the perfect dessert. The sticky figs and dates are baked into a gooey cake made from light muscovado sugar which creates a rich caramel flavour. We love to serve it with some brandy cream on the side but it would also be delicious with vanilla ice cream or natural yoghurt with a squeeze of honey.
Serves 8-12 & takes 50 minutes to cook
Ingredients
1 tablespoon of chia seeds (or ground chia seed)
300g plain flour
330g light muscovado sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of bicarb
200ml almond milk
125g coconut oil, melted
100g chopped dried figs
100g chopped dried dates
Pinch of sea salt
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C, fan setting. Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
2. Place the chia seeds into a blender and blend until a powder. After this, remove from the blender and mix with 4 tablespoons of water.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarb and sea salt until there are no lumps.
4. Pour in the almond milk, chia mix and melted coconut oil and mix again until the mixture comes together to form a smooth, thick batter.
5. Add the chopped figs and dates and mix again before pouring into the lined cake tin.
6. Cook for 35-40 minutes until cooked through but still a little fudgy in the middle. If not completely cooked, place back in the oven for 5-10 more minutes.
7. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool a little before serving.
