My husband could talk incessantly about his love for home-grown figs. Seems there was a fig tree in the yard of the house he lived in in Berkeley while in college. So, for him, there were glorious memories of fresh figs galore—jams, pastries, au naturel.
Lucky him.
I’ve never had access to a bounty of figs. At most, it seems, I can occasionally find a carton of weary-looking figs at the farmers’ market.
So, when I found a decent basket of figs at Trader Joe’s the other day, I grabbed them. Trying them once I got home was, honestly, kind of a letdown. But, alas, I decided that baked into a cake the figs would caramelize and become a treat.
But I had to find a worthy recipe. I looked through a lot of cookbooks; I even consulted the site Eat Your Books (https://www.eatyourbooks.com/) that catalogues thousands of cookbook recipes for paid searches. Then…there it was. Yossy Arefi.
I should have known. Yossy Arefi never lets me down. I treasure her cookbooks: Snacking Cakes, Snacking Bakes, and Sweeter Off The Vine (the cookbook from which this recipe came). (All those cookbooks can be ordered through your local bookstore or through Amazon. Lately, I’ve found Thrift Books (thriftbooks.com) to be a good source for used books; You might try there if you are interested.)
Here is her recipe for Soft Chocolate and Fig Cake as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Soft Chocolate and Fig Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 C. cocoa powder
- 1/2 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1 1/4 C. sugar
- 1/2 C. unsalted butter (melted and cooled to room temperature)
- 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1/2 C. chopped bittersweet chocolate
- 12 ounces fresh figs (sliced into 1/4 inch rounds)
- 2 T. powdered sugar (for garnish)
- Unsweetened whipped cream (for garnish, optional)
Directions
- Step 1 Prepare an 8-inch cake pan by buttering it and lining the bottom with parchment. Dust the pan with a small amount of flour.
- Step 2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step 3 Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Step 4 Whisk the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine. At a medium speed setting, continue to whisk the mixture until it lightens in color and in texture. This will take about 2 minutes. Fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Fold in the chopped chocolate.
- Step 5 Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top of the batter. Arrange the sliced figs on top of the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes. When your cake is done, it should be set on the sides and still a bit “wiggly” in the center. Remove from the oven and cool on your counter. Once cooled, the cake will have the texture of a brownie– firm on the sides and a bit soft in the center.
- Step 6 Serve dusted with powdered sugar and, if desired, a spoonful of whipped cream.
