Recipe | Fig & Thyme Sponge

Photograph by Emma Croman

There’s always room for pud – especially when it’s as light and as lovely as this is

Serves 6

250g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
250g caster sugar
6 medium eggs
2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
250g self-raising flour
2-3 tbsp milk
120g honey
8 figs
5 sprigs thyme, plus extra for garnish
200g vanilla natural yogurt

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/ Gas 4. Meanwhile, grease and line a 1kg loaf tin with butter and greaseproof paper.

2 For the sponge, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3 Add the eggs, one by one, before adding the thyme and vanilla. Then sift in the flour, folding it into the mix.

4 Finally, add the milk, a splash at a time, and fold in gently.

5 Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 50-60 mins – it’s ready once the top is golden and a skewer comes out clean. Remove the cake to cool completely, but leave the oven on.

6 Meanwhile, butter a 20 x 22cm ovenproof dish and pour in the honey.

7 Chop 4 of the figs into halves and 4 into quarters, then add to the honey along with the 5 sprigs of thyme. Stir to coat, then bake for 15-20 mins, or until the figs caramelise slightly.

6 Serve the cake topped with yogurt, baked figs, and a drizzle of honey.

This recipe is taken from our October ‘gathering’ pages, a menu for a harvest roast, which also includes recipes for Blackberry Fizz, Apple & Pear Roasted Pork, Roasted Garlic Mash with Crispy Sage Browned Butter, Autumn Veg Traybake and Loaded Cauliflower Cheese. The recipes are by Rebecca Finley and the photography by Emma Croman.

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Cake facts | Lamingtons

Lamingtons are the sort of cake we think we should have in the house more often. If you haven’t come across one before, they’re cuboid sponge cakes dipped in chocolate sauce and then rolled in desiccated coconut. 

Another classic Australian gem no one should miss out on is the beautifully illustrated children’s book Possum Magic by Mem Fox. Every Australian child since it was published in 1983 has a much-loved copy of this tale of a young Possum called Hush and her Grandma who has turned Hush invisible, using bush magic, to hide her from snakes. Together they travel around Australia sampling national dishes to find the dish that will make Hush visible again, and the final cure is a lamington. We don’t usually do spoilers, but here’s the very end of the book so you can appreciate the importance of Lamingtons, too. 

In Hobart, late one night, in the kitchens of the casino, they saw a lamington on a plate. Hush closed her eyes and nibbled. Grandma Poss held her breath - and waited.

"It's worked! It's worked!" she cried. And she was right. Hush could be seen from head to tail. Grandma Poss hugged Hush, and they both danced "Here We Go Round the Lamington Plate" till early in the morning.

So from that time onwards, Hush was visible. But once a year, on her birthday, she and Grandma Poss ate a Vegemite sandwich, a piece of pavlova and half a lamington, just to make sure that Hush stayed visible forever.

And she did.

The photo above is taken from One Tin Bakes: Sweet and Simple Traybakes, Pies, Bars and Buns by Edd Kimber (Kyle Books). You can find the recipe on p27 of our August issue, which is in shops now, or you can buy it direct from us online and have it arrive on your doormat.

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