Life

This Unusual Type Of Wedding Cake Is Going To Blow Up In 2018, According To Pinterest

by Mia Mercado

Wedding cakes are not known for their subtlety. However, many couples are starting to opt for a less over-the-top dessert than the traditional, multi-tiered cake. Recently, fig cakes have gained popularity as an alternative to the frosting rose-covered, layered wedding cake we’ve all come to know and love. Before you mourn the loss of your beloved vanilla wedding cake, let’s talk about why you should consider giving figs a try.

As HelloGiggles reports, Pinterest searches for fig cakes have increased over 500 percent in recent wedding seasons. Who’d have thought such an unassuming fruit would take over the wedding scene? Well, anyone who’s scene how gorgeous a fig cake can look.

If you’re not familiar with figs beyond the Newton variety, you best catch up. Aesthetically, figs are both sophisticated and earthy. (I know that seems like an excessively flowery way to talk about a fruit, but the sooner you acknowledge the fig’s fruity beauty, the better.) The most common variety of figs have a deep purple-red exterior. Cut open, a fig’s cross-section is like a secret and delicious work of art. Seriously, these fig cakes don’t need much decoration beyond a few halves or quarters of figs.

Like the aforementioned cookie, a fresh fig has notes of honey and berry. The fruit pairs particularly well with lighter flavors like honey and berries as well as rich spices like ginger and cinnamon. Basically, it makes for a simultaneously fancy yet casual and all around bomb ass cake.

In both folklore and religious, figs have been associated with prosperity and good luck. Often eaten on New Year’s Eve, consuming figs has often been thought to bring a person more than just a full stomach.

Beyond these presumed spiritual benefits, figs are thought to be good for the body as well. In addition to being a good source of fiber, figs have probiotics (AKA that good bacteria) that can help with digestion. I know this doesn’t seem like the sexiest benefit, but figs can also help with constipation and bloating. And who wants to feel bloated on their wedding night?

Speaking of sexy benefits, figs are basically the OG aphrodisiac. Sorry, eggplants and peaches, but the fig was acting as a euphemism before you were even a twinkle in a emoji-laden sext’s eye. Figs have often represented something much more suggestive than a mere piece of fruit in art and literature. (It’s a vagina. The fig represents the vagina.) It’s link to sexuality likely comes as little surprise to anyone familiar with the biblical story of Adam and Eve and how they used fig leaves to cover up their naked bits.

But perhaps it’s best to leave that sexy, sexy symbolism out of your wedding cake.

Figs also pair well with savory flavors like rosemary and bleu cheese. This is especially great news for anyone who saw the cheese wedding cake and felt immediately seen by the food industry. With a few fig additions, you can have your cheese wheel cake and eat it with figs, too.

Of course, you don’t need to make a lifetime commitment to someone in order to eat fig cake. This New York Times recipe for fig cake, which is like a leveled up version of a carrot cake with decadent cream cheese frosting, sounds perfect for a cold, gloomy day. And why wait until dessert to indulge in figs? Like I mentioned, figs work well in savory dishes like roasted with meat or mixed in a with a salad.

I’m not saying that figs are the new avocado...but actually, yeah I’m totally saying that. Here’s to you, figs, you delicious, kinda sexy fruit.