Chocolate Layer Cake with Fig Jam & Mascarpone, and a Pep Talk for all Aspiring Photographers Out There

• Produce

  • 7 Figs, fresh

• Refrigerated

  • 5 Eggs
  • 4 Pasteurized egg whites, organic

• Condiments

  • 1 cup Fig jam

• Baking & Spices

  • 2 tsp Baking soda
  • 150 g Cake flour
  • 30 g Cocoa powder
  • 50 g Dark chocolate
  • 70 g Potato starch
  • 200 g Powdered sugar
  • 150 g Sugar

• Dairy

  • 80 g Butter
  • 250 g Mascarpone cheese

• Beer, Wine & Liquor

  • 2 tbsp Rum

Found on hortuscuisine.com

Description

Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• 150g sugar
• 80g butter, softened and cut into pieces
• 150g cake flour
• 70g potato starch
• 30g cocoa powder (I used Dutch-processed)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 tablespoons rum (or milk)
• 50g dark chocolate, melted
• 4 organic, pasteurized egg whites
• 200g powdered sugar
• (NOTE: if you do not want to use meringue, use 1 cup whipped cream instead)
• 250g mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup fig jam
• 7-8 fresh figs

Directions

• To make the cake base, start by separating the yolks from the whites. Add the whites to a glass or steel bowl and set aside, and add the yolks to a large bowl. Add the sugar, and start beating them until pale and frothy. Beat in the butter until creamy.
• Sift in the flour, starch, and cocoa powder, folding them in with a spatula. Add the baking powder and rum or milk, along with the melted chocolate. mix everything well.
• Lastly, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and fold them into the batter with a downward-upward circling motion.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F˚ / 180 C˚.
• Grease and flour two 7 inch springform pans, and divide the batter among them evenly. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn down the oven to 340 F˚ / 170 C˚. Bake for further 40 - 45 minutes, depending on your oven. Check the cake with a skewer to make sure it is cooked through. Let cool completely, then very carefully cut each cake in half.
• The cakes will probably dome. In that case, cut the dome off.
• Beat the egg whites until fluffy, then start adding the sugar a heaping tablespoonful at a time, until the merengue turns glossy and forms stiff peaks that fold onto themselves.
• Tip the mascarpone into a bowl, add half the merengue, and beat them together with a whisk until creamy. Set the rest of the meringue in the fridge for frosting later. Slice 4 of the figs lengthwise.
• Position the bottom cut half of the cake on a plate, and spread two heaping tablespoonfuls of jam to cover the bottom, leaving about ¼ inch from the edge. Add ⅓ of the mascarpone cream and spread it the same way, then add some fig slices. Top with the top half, and repeat until you finish all the layers.
• Ice the cake with the remaining merengue, using a spatula (I decided to keep it rustic). Decorate the cake with the remaining figs and some pretty flowers.