Fig cake (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: ''sikopita'') is a

cake Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...

prepared with fig as a primary ingredient. Some preparation variations exist. It is a part of the cuisine of the Southern United States, Greek cuisine, and the Appalachian Mountains region of North America. It is also a part of the cuisine of

Ocracoke, North Carolina Ocracoke ( )
, from the North Carolina Collection website at the

, which has an annual fig festival.

Overview

Fig cake is prepared with fig as a main ingredient. Additional ingredients include typical cake ingredients, along with unique ingredients such as pecans, walnuts, pistachios, almonds, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Fig cake may be a moist cake, and may be topped with a fig-based sauce, honey, whipped cream or a glaze. A

buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in Western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most mode ...

glaze is used atop some fig cakes. Figs may be used to garnish the cake. Fig cake may be prepared as a

pudding Pudding is a type of food which can either be a dessert served after the main meal or a Savoury (dish), savoury (salty or sweet, and spicy) dish, served as part of the main meal. In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based des ...

cake, a

bundt cake A Bundt cake () is a cake that is baked in a Bundt pan, shaping it into a distinctive donut shape. The shape is inspired by a traditional European cake known as , but Bundt cakes are not generally associated with any single recipe. The style of mo ...

, a

layer cake A layer cake (US English) or sandwich cake (UK English) is a cake consisting of multiple stacked sheets of cake, held together by a filling such as frosting, jam, or other preserves. Most cake recipes can be adapted for layer cakes; butte ...

and as a

torte A torte (; from (), in turn from Latin language, Latin via ) is a rich, usually Layer cake, multilayered, cake that is filled with whipped cream, buttercreams, mousses, Fruit preserves#Jam, jams, or fruit. Tortes are commonly baked in a spri ...

cake. It can be prepared as a

gluten-free A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of prolamin proteins found in wheat (and all of its species and hybrids, such as spelt, kamut, and triticale), as well as barley, rye, and oats. ...

dish. Fig cake may be baked in a skillet. Fig

tart A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with ...

s may be prepared using fig as a primary ingredient.

In cuisines

Fig cake is a part of the

cuisine of the Southern United States The cuisine of the Southern United States encompasses diverse food traditions of several subregions, including Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, cuisine of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, Southeastern Native American tribes, ...

and a part of

Greek cuisine Greek cuisine is the cuisine of Greece and the Greek diaspora. In common with many other Mediterranean cuisine, cuisines of the Mediterranean, it is founded on the triad of wheat, olive oil, and wine. It uses vegetables, olive oil, grains ...

, in which it is referred to as ''sikopita''. Fig

preserves Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...

is sometimes used in the preparation of fig cakes and ''sikopita''.

By region

Appalachians

Fig cake and similar cakes have traditionally been served in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

of the eastern United States as a part of Old Christmas celebrations. In this region, Old Christmas is celebrated through January 6 each year. January 6th is the date of the arrival of the

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

Wise Men in Bethlehem. Fig cake, along with similar cakes such as jam cake, prune cake and

applesauce cake Applesauce cake is a dessert cake prepared using apple sauce, flour and sugar as primary ingredients. Various spices are typically used, and it tends to be a moist cake. Several additional ingredients may also be used in its preparation, and it i ...

, are common in this region during the

Christmas and holiday season The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrat ...

Ocracoke

In Ocracoke,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, figs and fig cake are a prominent part of the town's cuisine, and the town has an annual fig festival that includes a fig cake contest. In Ocracoke, the cake was first prepared by Margaret Garrish sometime in the 1950s or 1960s, and the recipe was picked up by others in the town. Fig cake is served at several restaurants in Ocracoke.

Overview

In cuisines

By region

Appalachians

Ocracoke

See also

References

Further reading