Egyptian Fig and Date Cake

Ancient Egyptian pressed fig and date cake with caraway, honey, and cinnamon

Origin: Nile Valley, Egypt

From the journey of Fig.

The ancient Egyptians were among the ancient world's most accomplished bakers and confectioners: Egyptian tomb paintings, the Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE), and the excavated remains of bakeries at Amarna and Deir el-Medina all document a sophisticated kitchen culture in which figs, dates, honey, and spices were combined into dense, preserved confections. The oldest written recipe in the world, from the Yale Babylonian Tablets (c. 1700 BCE), documents lamb stews; but Egyptian papyri from roughly the same period describe pressed fig and date cakes made for temple offerings, funerary provisions, and festival celebrations. The combination of dried figs and dates with honey and caraway (a spice native to the eastern Mediterranean and in use in Egypt by at least 1500 BCE) is documented in multiple sources. This preparation reconstructs the form of those ancient confections: a dense, pressed cake of ground dried figs and dates, sweetened with honey, spiced with caraway and cinnamon, shaped and dried. It requires no baking in the modern sense — only warmth and time, exactly as it would have been made in an Egyptian kitchen four thousand years ago.

Ingredients

Fruit

200 g dried figs, stems removed and roughly chopped
200 g Medjool dates, stoned and roughly chopped

Sweetener

2 tbsp good dark honey

Spice

1 tsp ground caraway seeds
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp ground coriander seed

Coating

60 g sesame seeds (for rolling), lightly toasted

Method

Place the chopped dried figs and dates in a food processor and pulse until a coarse paste forms. Do not over-process: the mixture should retain some texture.
Turn the mixture out into a bowl. Add the honey, ground caraway, cinnamon, and coriander. Mix thoroughly with your hands until the spices and honey are evenly distributed.
Divide the mixture into twelve equal portions. With dampened palms, roll each portion into a small log or press it into a compact round about 3cm across.
Spread the toasted sesame seeds on a plate. Roll each fig-date cake firmly in the sesame seeds to coat all surfaces.
Arrange the cakes on a wire rack and leave uncovered at room temperature overnight (or for at least 8 hours) to firm and dry slightly.
Serve at room temperature. Store in an airtight container between layers of parchment; the cakes keep for up to two weeks.

Notes

These pressed fig-date cakes are extraordinarily shelf-stable, as the ancient Egyptians who placed them in tomb provisions understood. They are also exceptionally nutritious: dense with natural sugars, protein from the sesame, and the spice notes that would have made them valuable both as food and as medicine in the ancient world. Caraway seeds were among the most important Egyptian spices (found in the tomb of Tutankhamun); their slightly anise-like flavour is the defining note of this preparation. For a richer version, add a tablespoon of toasted ground almonds to the mixture.

The Gastrographer

Name: Egyptian Fig and Date Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Egypt
Ingredients: 200 g dried figs, stems removed and roughly chopped; 200 g Medjool dates, stoned and roughly chopped; 2 tbsp good dark honey; 1 tsp ground caraway seeds; 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon; 0.25 tsp ground coriander seed; 60 g sesame seeds (for rolling), lightly toasted

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control