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.

One of my secret baking tips to make any cake extra moist… evenly brush about 1/3 cup simple syrup on each layer before frosting, using a pastry brush. Simple syrup is easily made using equal parts sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. It will thicken as it cools.

INGREDIENTS
For Cake:
3/4 cup Butter, softened
1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 cup Granulated Sugar
3 Eggs
2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 cup Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1 1/2 cups Whole Milk

For Frosting:
1 stick Butter, softened
1 cup Cocoa Powder
5 cups Confectioners Sugar
1/3 cup Heavy Cream
Cocoa Nibs, optional garnish

METHOD
Preheat to 350 degrees.
Generously butter 2 cake pans, and then coat pans in sugar, shaking off excess – set aside.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, add the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla.
Beat on medium until light and creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stop mixer and add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
Beat just until blended.
On low, add in the milk and mix until the batter is smooth, scraping the bowl with the rubber spatula, as needed.
Pour batter equally into the 2 prepared cake pans.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.
Cool cake in pans for 10 minutes, before turning out onto wire racks to completely cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting.
In a medium bowl cream together the butter, cocoa powder and confectioners sugar.
Add in the heavy cream, a little at a time, while continuing to beat on medium.
Continue to beat the frosting until the desired texture is achieved, as the heavy cream will whip up nice and creamy.

Once the cake is totally cool, spread about 1/2 a cup of frosting on the bottom layer.
Top with the second layer, bottom side up, and spread remaining frosting over sides and top of cake.

Sprinkle top of cake with cocoa nibs, as garnish, if desired.

Anyway, I was craving pasta and the basil in the garden is so beautiful, it just made sense to harvest some and make this dish.

I thought garlic toast would be a good  side to the pasta. I spread a thin layer of homemade garlic sauce on toasted bread, topped that with a few of the whole basil leaves, which was then topped with mozzarella cheese, and a little Italian seasoning. Put it under the broiler for a few minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and melted.

Here’s my quick and delicious recipe. Hope you give it a try.

INGREDIENTS
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons olive oil
4 Onions, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons sugar

METHOD
In a large frying pan add the butter, oil, and onions. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 20 minutes.

Lower the heat to medium low and add the sugar. Continue to cook for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently until the onions are golden brown.

Optional: Sometimes I will add a splash of balsamic vinegar to my onions in the last few minutes of cooking. I love the added flavor it gives.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 cups blueberries (fresh is best, but frozen works, too)

METHOD
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place baking cups in muffin tin and set aside.

In a small bowl add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and combine.

Next add half the dry ingredients and half of the milk. Mix and repeat.

Lastly, fold in the blueberries.

Spoon mixture into baking cups, filling about ¾. I like to use my scooper and it fills each one perfectly.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly golden.

Enjoy!

Fresh Pan-Fried Trout

INGREDIENTS
2 large pieces of trout
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lemon

METHOD
Set up your workstation. Beat the egg and about a tablespoon of water in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.

Place the butter and olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.

Coat the fish pieces in the egg and then dip in the flour mixture, being sure to coat it completely. Place the fish in the frying pan, top side down first. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes on medium high heat. I like it to get a little golden. Carefully turn the fish over and squeeze the lemon juice on top. Continue to cook for another 3 minutes.

Serve with a fresh lemon wedge on top, if desired. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
For tuna:
2 cans of white Albacore tuna in water, drained
1/3 cup of mayonnaise
1 stalk of celery, chopped fine
4 spring onions, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon celery seed (not celery salt)
juice of 1 small lemon
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

For dressing:
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

For salad:
1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
1 Roma tomato, cut into 1 inch-pieces
1/3 orange bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 cucumber, cut in rounds
2 eggs, hardboiled

METHOD
If you don’t have eggs hardboiled already, get those started first.

Next, chill 2 plates in the fridge while you are prepping your food.

For tuna:
In a small bowl combine all the ingredients for the tuna salad. Cover and place in the refrigerator.

For dressing:
Place all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

For salad:
It’s really important to wash your lettuce, aside from the cleanliness factor, it refreshes the lettuce and makes it taste better (at least to me it does).  Use your salad spinner to dry, or if you don’t have a salad spinner, be sure to dry the lettuce with some paper towels.  Rough chop and set aside.

Peel the cucumber.  Take a fork and pull it down the side of the cucumber making groves. Continue around the entire cucumber. Place a paper towel around the cucumber and gently squeeze. Not only will the design make your cucumber rounds look better, it will also take away some of the bitterness that cucumbers sometimes have. Cut into rounds.

Remove the chilled plates from the fridge and place equal amounts of lettuce on each.  Top lettuce with tomatoes, bell pepper, and cucumber, leaving space in the middle for the tuna.  Place a generous scoop of tuna in the middle.  Place the hardboiled eggs around the tuna mound.  Drizzle with salad dressing and serve.

Enjoy!