Food pairing is trendy and stimulates the imagination of people who like to cook.
Have you tried to pair oranges with figs? It isn’t such an unusual combination, though it’s not common to find these ingredients featured together on your plate, figs and oranges actually share lots of aromas that make them great to pair in more than just sweet desserts. The most obvious aromatic link we find among figs and oranges is an orange-scented citrus note. In today’s chocolate cake I went for a creation based on this delicious fruit pairing.
But what about the cake?!! It’s moist, fluffy, delicate and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Layered with an orange-fig filling with hazelnuts. And if this decadency wasn’t enough, it’s topped with an amazing mascarpone chocolate frosting. You have been warned (:
Ingredients
chocolate cake
260 g flour
80 g cocoa powder
200 g sugar
150 g brown sugar
90 ml vegetable oil
300 ml kefir
2 farmers eggs
180 ml strong espresso
2 teaspoons soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
orange-fig filling
5 small oranges
150 g dried figs, cut into small pieces
100 g sugar
20 g hazelnuts, finely chopped
orange zest from 1 orange
chocolate mascarpone frosting
250 ml heavy cream
500 g mascarpone
150 g icing sugar
40 g cocoa powder
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the eggs with sugar and brown sugar, vanilla, oil and kefir. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda. Stir and add coffee. Pour the batter among 2 springforms, 20 cm each, layered with baking paper and sides greased with butter. Place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes at 180°C. Then remove and allow to cool. Unmold, cut the uneven top with a sharp knife.
Peel the oranges and cut between the membranes to segment the orange. Put in a saucepan, add sugar and orange zest, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add dried figs and hazelnuts. Set aside to cool.
Pour the cream into a large bowl, add sugar, cocoa and mascarpone. Beat until mixture is thick and medium-firm peaks form.
Place 1 cake on a platter, spread the orange-fig filling and cover with the second cake. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the top and sides of cake. Top as desired. Chill for 30 minutes. Enjoy!
Thanks to you I definitely need some fig cake in my life right now! The pictures are simply stunning and I’m intrigued by the orange and fig combo 🙂
Pozdrawiam!
thank so much! you definitely should try it then!