Chocolate cake with green fig jam
Ingredients for the biscuit:
100-120 g flour
½ sachet of baking powder
6 eggs
200 g sugar
½ cup of ground almonds
1 teaspoon ground mahаlep seeds
1 tablespoon of amaro
3 tablespoons of green fig syrup (from green fig jam)
Dark chocolate
For the cream:
500 ml milk
3 tablespoons of flour
2 eggs
150 g sugar
Green figs (from green fig jam), cut into pieces
400 g of mascrapone
40 g of dark chocolate
For the finish:
100 ml milk
2 teaspoons of amaro
2 teaspoons of green fig syrup
2 boxes of sticks coated with dark chocolate
80 g flaked almonds
Preparation:
In a deep bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff with a pinch of salt (using an electric mixer). Add a little sugar and whisk for another minute or two. In another bowl, beat the yolks with the remaining sugar, then gradually incorporate them into the whites. Gradually add the amaro, groung mahalep seeds, ground almonds, the green fig jam syrup and the flour sifted with the baking powder. Work gently with a spatula.
Line a large baking dish with parchment paper. On the reverse side, draw a circle 20 to 22 cm in diameter. Then pour a third of the mixture on the sheet and spread it out into a round biscuit, guiding you with the drawn circle (use a pastry bag if you prefer). Bake at 180°C until risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the dish for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, peel off the baking parchment and leave to cool. Make 2 more sponges of the same diameter with the remaining dough, mixing the last third with 35 g of dark chocolate (melted in a double boiler and cooled). You can choose to make 1 or 2 chocolate cake layers or all three of them. Respectively, you will need 70 g or 100 g of dark chocolate.
Whip the first 4 cream ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Pour into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over low heat while stirring. As soon as the cream sets, dip in the chocolate. Stir vigorously until you obtain a thick and smooth chocolate cream. Mix in the green figs (of jam) cut into small pieces. Remove the cream from the heat and let cool completely, whisking occasionally. Beat the mascarpone into a smooth cream and incorporate it into the already cooled chocolate-fig cream.
To assemble the cake, take a large, flat plate or dish and place the first sponge cake on it. Flavor the milk with the amaro and the jam syrup and soak the cake (alternate sponge cakes with/without chocolate). Spread over a generous layer of cream, smooth and place the second flat cake on it. Soak and cover with cream. Then, put the last cake on top and soak it with milk.
Coat the cake on all sides with cream and smooth. Decorate the sides of the cake with chocolate sticks (trim the height if necessary).
Roast dry the flaked almonds in a non-stick saucepan. Let cool, then top the cake with an even layer of almonds. Refrigerate the cake for a few hours or overnight. Decorate to taste.