In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder and mix properly to form an even mixture. Combine ½ cup sugar, egg yolks, oil, vanilla extract, fig puree and whisk vigorously to form a uniform mixture.

In a clean bowl, take the egg whites and beat them either with a whisk or electric beater to form soft peaks. Now, add 1 tablespoon of sugar and continue beating. Again add 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat till you see firm peaks. This is called meringue.

Fold 1/3 of the meringue gently with the remaining cake mixture. Do not mix. Mixing will deflate the meringue, i.e. remove all the air that you have incorporated to the egg whites. Then fold the remaining meringue to the mixture gently.

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Pour the mixture to a baking paper lined pan and bake till a tooth pick comes out clean (approximately 50 minutes depending on oven). You can also use a microwave with convection mode. This cake has a tendency to deflate while cooling. So, I invert the pan till it cools down which results in lesser sinking of the cake.