Pecan Fig Cake

Pecan Fig Cake. With Dark Chocolate Ganache.

I made this Pecan Fig Cake because I was feeling fancy, and wanted to have a fancy brunch time. This cake will also work for fancy breakfast time, fancy tea time, or fancy eating-cake-over-the-sink time.

Figs always remind me of my grandma’s house. My mom’s mom, my baker grandma. They always had figs around cause I know my grandpa loves them.

And this is precisely the kind of cake that you would find at my grandma’s house for Coffee Time. In Brazil, we have the famous: cafezinho da tarde (translation: afternoon coffee), a little snack to get you through the hump of the midday, joined by a cup of strong Brazilian coffee.

Growing up, I spent so many afternoons having cafezinho da tarde at my grandma’s house,

I believe this cake is perfect to illustrate one of those afternoons, where I would eat Portuguese olives with my grandpa, and watch cartoons with my sister. Gosh I feel nostalgic now. Being away from home and moving to another country is not the easiest choice. Home sickness can be overwhelming sometimes.

Luckily I have my baking as a way to express those feelings. And that’s exactly why this cake is here today.

I used dried figs and chopped pecans in the batter. And also a combination of whole wheat flour, and cake flour, because I wanted the nuttiness of the whole wheat flour, and also wanted to keep the cake on the fluffy side, since bundt coffee cakes like these tend to be on the dense side.

This Pecan Fig cake is a bit on the dense side. It’s the type of cake that you want to eat with a cup of coffee, or a glass of milk if you’re my husband.

Today, I also wanted to give you some tips about pouring ganache over cakes.

How to make Chocolate Ganache

Ganache is super simple to make. Just equal parts of chocolate and heavy cream. Do this by the weight. So if you are using 4 ounces of chocolate, use 4 ounces of heavy cream.

To start, chop your chocolate very finely.

Then, heat heavy cream until almost a boil. As soon as you see the first bubbles emerging, turn the heat off.

Now, pour heavy cream over chocolate. Let it sit for a minute.

Stir with a spatula until everything has melted.

If you still see pieces of chocolate, even if they are very tiny, just place your bowl in the microwave for 5 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the ganache is 100% smooth.

How to pour ganache over a cake

Let the ganache come to room temperature. It might take a couple hours.

The ganache shouldn’t be hotter than around 80F. You also don’t want it to be too cold, or won’t drip.

If you want to refrigerate your ganache to work with it at another time, then simply take it out of the fridge a while before using it to let it come to room temperature.

In any situation that your ganache is too thick, all you have to do is heat it in the microwave for about 5 seconds each time. That’s it. Don’t let it go for too long. Just a few seconds, turn it off, stir thoroughly, and check again.

The best way to check is by attempting one drop on the edge of your cake. If it drips nicely, you’re good to go. If it drips too fast, you might have to let your ganache cool down a bit more. If it drips too slowly, you might have to warm your ganache just very slightly.

Pour the ganache over the cake and let it drip nicely.

You shouldn’t need to use a spatula to spread the ganache around if you have the right pouring consistency. However, if the consistency of your ganache is too thick, you may need to use a spatula to spread it evenly, but the spatula will always leave marks in your cake.

I have a trick for that actually.

If you poured your ganache over the cake, realized it was too thick and it wasn’t spreading as it should, there’s a very easy trick you can use to try and fix it.

Just place the cake in a warm oven for a few seconds, so the chocolate in the ganache will have a chance to warm up slightly, and it will drip better. Now remember, just a few seconds, to slightly warm the chocolate. I don’t even close the door of the oven, I simply hold my cake by where it’s warm for just a few seconds.

By the way, the dried figs I used in the batter of my Pecan Fig Cake are Dried Black Mission Figs, which are the dark color kind, not the white kind. They are also so delicious for simply snacking.

I hope you liked today’s cake, stories, and tips.

Thanks for reading!

Here are some recipes I think you might like: Marble Layer Cake, Cashew Caramel Babka, Strawberry Rhubarb Almond Cake, Chocolate Bundt Cake with Raspberry Cheesecake Filling.

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Pecan Fig Cake

Pecan and Fig Cake with a chocolate ganache. An elegant cake to serve your guests for tea, or brunch.

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword bundt, chocolate, figs

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 16 servings

Calories 400 kcal

Ingredients

Pecan Fig Cake

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (191 grams, 6.75 oz)
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour (191 grams, 6.75 oz)
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter softened (226 grams, 8 oz, 2 sticks)
• 1 cup brown sugar (200 grams, 7 oz)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams, 7 oz)
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla)
• 1 cup sour cream (243 grams, 8.6 oz)
• 1 1/2 cup chopped pecans (187 grams, 6.5 oz)
• 1 1/2 cup chopped dried black mission figs (226 grams, 8 oz)

Chocolate Ganache

• 2/3 cup dark chocolate chopped finely (113 grams, 4 oz)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (113 grams, 4 oz)

Instructions

Pecan Fig Cake

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Set aside.
2. Sift together the whole wheat flour, cake flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter on medium high speed for 1 minute.
4. Add both sugars to the butter, cream for 2 minutes on medium high speed.
5. Add one egg at a time to the bowl, mixing each entirely before adding the next one.
6. Add extract. Mix to combine.
7. Now, add the sour cream to the batter. Whisk sour cream until throughly combined and batter is smooth.
8. Add dry sifted ingredients to the batter.
9. Mix with a spatula to combine.
10. At the end, when the flour seems almost entirely incorporated, add the figs and pecans, mixing until combined.
11. Pour batter onto the bundt pan.
12. Bake in pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes. Check in between. Start checking at 25 minutes, rotate the cake if necessary, and cover it with some aluminum foil, in case the top is browning faster than the inside is cooking.
13. Once a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the cake, that means it’s done baking.
14. Let it cool down before glazing with the Chocolate Ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

1. Chop the chocolate very finely. This will help the chocolate melt evenly and faster.
2. Place chocolate in a bowl.
3. Heat heavy cream until it almost boils.
4. Remove from heat when you see the first bubbles.
5. Pour hot cream over the chopped chocolate.
6. Let it sit for 1 minute.
7. Stir to combine, keep stirring until you see no more pieces of chocolate.

To assemble

1. Let glaze come to room temperature before you pour it over the cake. Check the post above for tips about pouring ganache over cakes. Place fresh figs, blackberries, and some fresh time on top of the cake for decoration.

Storage

1. This cake will be best if consumed on the first two days. Because it's a heavy cake, so it tends to get dry as it sits.

2. I like to store this cake in the fridge, covered so it doesn't get dry. Also, let it come to room temperature before consuming.

Nutrition Facts

Pecan Fig Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 400

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.