Moist, nutty, rich and oh so flavorful are some ways you could describe this fig, almond and chocolate cake. If you're trying to find a cake that doesn't consist mainly of flour but instead is rich in nuts and flavor, then this may be it.
To make this cake properly, ideally you should have an old fashioned almond grinder. This grinder clamps down to a table or counter and you put in the nuts and then spin the mechanism. This in turn grinds down almonds to an almost powder state that isn't hard at all. Of course, these grinders are not easy to come by, so chances are you don't have one at home. If that's the case, then you could process the almonds in a food processor as finely as possible, or use almond flour.
We used green figs here, local from the farmer's market, however mission figs would also be wonderful, if not better! If you don't have any figs to use, you could very well use peaches, blueberries or plums to mention a few options. Beware that this batter is rather firm, it almost feels like cookie dough as opposed to cake batter!
We served this cake with some whipped cream which was absolutely perfect. This cake is so rich, flavorful and different from most other cakes around, it's definitely worth a try if you're in the mood for something out of the norm. Fig, almond & chocolate cake: - 230 g almonds (about 1 2/3 cup)
- 200 g butter (14 tbsp), room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- zest from 1 orange
- 1/3 cup flour
- 100 g dark chocolate
- about 6 fresh figs
Method:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. First either grind almonds in almond grinder, or process them as finely as possible in a food processor (another option would be to use almond flour). Ideally press the grinded almonds through a sifter to make sure you don't use any big pieces.
Separately zest the orange and chop up the chocolate.
In a mixer, mix the sugar and the butter until light and airy. At that point, add the eggs and the zest from the orange.
Once that is mixed well, take the bowl off the mixer and by hand mix in the flour and the chocolate. Using a 9x9 inch pyrex (or an oven safe dish of a similar size), spread the batter into the dish. Cut the figs into smaller pieces and push them down into the batter.
Bake in the oven for about 55 minutes, or until nice and firm and slightly brown on top.
Let cool slightly and serve with whipped cream.
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