Fig and Mascarpone Cake – Lucy’s Luscious Lovelies Recipe collection – copyright LLL

AuthorViceChairCategory, DifficultyIntermediate

A decadent, beautifully flavoured fig & mascarpone cake that is light, fluffy but dense. The sweetness from the mascarpone cheese and honey and the bitter salty tastes of the plain yoghurt and salt juxtaposes in this moist cake.So much flavour without being dry or dressed in frosting or glaze.

Yields10 Servings
Prep Time20 minsCook Time50 minsTotal Time1 hr 10 mins
 2 ½ cups self raising flour
 ½ tsp salt
 ¼ cup rapadura sugar
 ½ cup rapadura sugar
 ⅓ cup unsalted butter, microwaved for 10 -15 secs slightly cooled
 2 large eggs – rmust be oom temperature
 1 ¾ cups yoghurt plain - not vanilla flavoured
 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
 ¼ tsp pure almond extract
 2 tsp powdered cardamom
 ¾ cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
 3 tbsp strong honey
 ⅓ cup dried fig compote – OR ½ cup - cook 6 dried figs until soft and mushy
 4 fresh figs, halved or 8 x full dried figs soaked overnight and very tough bits of skin removed
1

Batter Instructions

1. Cook cake on centre rack at 175C
2. Butter a 20cm x 8cm cake pan, (you’ll need the height) put a round of baking paper on base and then lightly dust with SR flour.
3. In a medium bowl, sift and mix together flour, ¼ rapadura sugar, cardamom and salt. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl whisk together the remaining ½ cup of rapadura sugar, butter and eggs until creamed - careful not to split this mix.
5. Add yoghurt, vanilla and almond extract folding in until well mixed.
6. Add all the yoghurt mixture to the dry ingredients. NOT dry ingredients to wet!
7. Stir until just combined and no lumps remain. Mixture will be quite thick for a cake batter.
8. Spoon batter into the prepared pan.

Topping instructions
9. Mix the honey and mascarpone in a bowl big enough not to splash everywhere!
10. Spoon dollops of the mixture on the top the cake batter.
11. Spoon the dollops of mashed fig on top of the cake batter
12. Use a chopstick to lightly swirl the two into the cake. Be careful not to go down further than 2/3 the depth of the cake.
13. Press on the figs into the cake batter.

Baking
14. Bake for 45-55 minutes, it should be a nice deep golden colour and a wooden skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. If it is browning too much on sides wrap strip of foil around side of tin. If overcooked it is too dry.
15. Cool before slicing.
16. Serve plain or with mascarpone, with a drop of almond essence and cardamom powder.. If you have a sweet tooth add honey not sugar.
17. Wrap the Cake well and store in the frig up to 3 days.

Ingredients

 2 ½ cups self raising flour
 ½ tsp salt
 ¼ cup rapadura sugar
 ½ cup rapadura sugar
 ⅓ cup unsalted butter, microwaved for 10 -15 secs slightly cooled
 2 large eggs – rmust be oom temperature
 1 ¾ cups yoghurt plain - not vanilla flavoured
 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
 ¼ tsp pure almond extract
 2 tsp powdered cardamom
 ¾ cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
 3 tbsp strong honey
 ⅓ cup dried fig compote – OR ½ cup - cook 6 dried figs until soft and mushy
 4 fresh figs, halved or 8 x full dried figs soaked overnight and very tough bits of skin removed

Directions

1

Batter Instructions

1. Cook cake on centre rack at 175C
2. Butter a 20cm x 8cm cake pan, (you’ll need the height) put a round of baking paper on base and then lightly dust with SR flour.
3. In a medium bowl, sift and mix together flour, ¼ rapadura sugar, cardamom and salt. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl whisk together the remaining ½ cup of rapadura sugar, butter and eggs until creamed - careful not to split this mix.
5. Add yoghurt, vanilla and almond extract folding in until well mixed.
6. Add all the yoghurt mixture to the dry ingredients. NOT dry ingredients to wet!
7. Stir until just combined and no lumps remain. Mixture will be quite thick for a cake batter.
8. Spoon batter into the prepared pan.

Topping instructions
9. Mix the honey and mascarpone in a bowl big enough not to splash everywhere!
10. Spoon dollops of the mixture on the top the cake batter.
11. Spoon the dollops of mashed fig on top of the cake batter
12. Use a chopstick to lightly swirl the two into the cake. Be careful not to go down further than 2/3 the depth of the cake.
13. Press on the figs into the cake batter.

Baking
14. Bake for 45-55 minutes, it should be a nice deep golden colour and a wooden skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. If it is browning too much on sides wrap strip of foil around side of tin. If overcooked it is too dry.
15. Cool before slicing.
16. Serve plain or with mascarpone, with a drop of almond essence and cardamom powder.. If you have a sweet tooth add honey not sugar.
17. Wrap the Cake well and store in the frig up to 3 days.

Fig and Mascarpone Cake – Lucy’s Luscious Lovelies Recipe collection – copyright LLL
IngredientsDirections