I’m happy to say that I had more figs this year from our tree than ever before. Figs and Chocolate make this cake dense and decadent, with a rich texture. It was incredible. I made a simple mascarpone cream to serve alongside it, which was delicious with the fresh figs, as well…

Chocolate Fig Cake

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
6 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup almond flour (or finely ground almonds)
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups figs, chopped

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Generously butter a 9 inch cake pan, then coat the pan with sugar… shake out excess and set aside.
Melt butter and chocolate chips together.
Beat in the sugar.
Add in the eggs and thoroughly combine.
Stir in all the dry ingredients and once combined, mix in the chopped figs.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is set and cake is firm to the touch.
Be sure not to overcook, the center of the cake should be moist… you cannot rely on using the toothpick method.
Allow cake to cool for about 15 minutes, before removing from the cake pan to a cooling rack.
Once the cake is cool, place on serving plate and dust with powdered sugar.

Note: This cake keeps well in the refrigerator for about 7 days.

For Mascarpone Cream – mix together softened mascarpone, vanilla, a little honey and heavy cream.

Here’s my impromptu recipe for Raspberry Cream Pie. The hardest part about the pie was actually finding room in my freezer to store it. It was like an ice cream pie.

Raspberry Cream Pie with Chocolate Ganache

INGREDIENTS
Pillsbury Pie Crust (you can make your own, but I didn’t)

For Chocolate Ganache:
12 oz. Dark Chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon butter, softened
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Raspberry Cream filling:
½ cup seedless Raspberry Jam or Jelly
2 cups Heavy Cream

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the pie crust in a 9-inch greased pie pan. Be sure to use a fork and poke some air holes in the bottom of the crust (or use pie weights). Bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

For Chocolate Ganache:
Cut chocolate pieces and place in a medium glass bowl. Set aside.

Place the cream in a small saucepan on medium heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add butter and vanilla. Stir until glossy. Set aside to cool, but not harden (you want to be able to pour it into the crust).

For Raspberry Cream Filling:
Whip the heavy cream on high heat until light and fluffy. Add the raspberry jam and continue to whip until incorporated. Store covered in the fridge until pie crust and ganache are cool and ready for assembly.

Assembly:
Pour the cool chocolate ganache into the cooled pie crust. After this step I put the pie in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes to set.

Next top the ganache layer with the Raspberry Cream filling. Put in freezer to set for at least 3 hours.

When ready to serve garnish with some whipped cream, chocolate syrup and fresh raspberries, if desired.

Enjoy!

This is the perfect Valentine’s dessert…
in case you’re cooking a fantastic dinner for your honey!

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
1 ½ cups unsalted butter (room temperature) plus a little more to coat the soufflé cups
Granulated sugar (about ¼ cup)
12 ounces semisweet dark chocolate, chopped (the better quality chocolate the better your cakes will be!)
8 large egg yolks, plus 7 large eggs
1 ½ cups confectioners sugar
¼ cup flour
2 cups fresh berries
6 scoops vanilla ice cream, vanilla frozen yogurt, or fresh whipped cream
mint sprigs, if desired for garnish

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter six 6-ounce soufflé cups and sprinkle each with granulated sugar (be sure to remove any excess sugar).

Weighing the chocolate

Melt the butter and chocolate (I used Callebaut) together in a double boiler (microwave works, too). Set aside.

In a separate bowl beat the egg yolks and eggs for about 2 minutes on low speed, or until light and smooth. With the mixer on, pour the melted butter/chocolate mixture into the bowl and mix for 2 minutes longer.

Sift the sugar and flour into the bowl as the mixer runs. Continue to beat on medium for about 1 minute, or until well mixed.

Pour the mix into the prepared soufflé cups, leaving about ¼ of an inch of space below the rim. Place the soufflé cups on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, or until puffed up about 1 inch higher than the rim. The centers will be soft.

cakes out of the oven

Remove the cakes from the oven and immediately invert each onto a serving plate and remove the cup.

Garnish each plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, vanilla yogurt or fresh whipped cream and fresh berries. Garnish with a spring of mint, if desired.

Enjoy!

Warm Chocolate Melt Cake with Fresh Whipped Cream & Mint Sprig