Grown in climates that bring to mind the word "sultry," figs conjure sun and heat and sensuality. But the fig has an autumnal side too, reminding us of warm months while it heralds shorter days and cooler nights. This cake plays to the fruit's affinity for fall and chill-weather foods like cornmeal, honey and ruby port. The buttery cake is a moist, appealing round, sweetened with honey and distinguished by the addition of yellow cornmeal. The honey and cornmeal provide a somewhat Italianate base for the fruit, which is lightly poached in port and honey before it is pressed into the batter. And there's a bonus—once the figs are poached, the remaining syrup is boiled for a few minutes and becomes a lovely sauce. Sauced, the cake jumps from an everyday treat to a company dessert.

¾ cup ruby port
1 cup honey
2 thin slices lemon
16?20 fresh figs, stemmed and halved
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
Grated zest of ½ lemon
1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces, at room temperature
3 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


FOR THE FIGS AND SAUCE: Stir the port and ½ cup of the honey together in a small saucepan. Toss in the lemon slices and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat, add the figs, cover the pan and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the figs are soft but not falling apart. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the figs to a bowl.

Raise the heat just a little and cook the poaching liquid for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until slightly thickened; the syrup should coat a metal spoon. Remove the pan from the heat and set the sauce aside.

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper and dust the inside of the pan with flour, tapping out the excess. Put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

TO MAKE THE CAKE: Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

Put the sugar and grated zest in the bowl of a stand mixer or another large bowl, and rub them together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist, grainy and aromatic. Toss in the butter. With the paddle or whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Pour in the remaining ½ cup honey, add the vanilla extract and beat for another 2 minutes. The mixture may look curdled and not so pretty—keep mixing, it will get better soon. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated; you'll have a fairly thick batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a few times to even the batter, then scatter the poached figs over the top.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the cake is puffed and golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before running a blunt knife around the edges and releasing the sides of the pan. Cool the cake to slightly warm or to room temperature before serving it with the sauce.

makes 8 to 10 servings

serving: Offer wedges of the cake topped with the port sauce (which can be warmed, if you'd like). Whipped cream or ice cream alongside would be even lovelier.

storing: Wrapped well, the cake will keep at room temperature for 2 days.

Excerpted from Baking: From My Home to Yours . Copyright © 2006 by Dorie Greenspan. Photographs copyright © 2006 by Alan Richardson. All rights reserved.