Ingredients
1 1/2 cup dried mission figs
1/3 cup dark rum
1/3 cup water
8 oz semisweet chocolate
8 oz unsalted butter
6 eggs
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream, soft wipped
Directions
With a small knife remove the hard bit of stem at the tip of each fig.
Place the figs in a small saucepan with the rum and water. Bring to a
boil over high heat. Cover pan, reduce heat to simmer and continue
cooking until figs are tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
Grease botton and sides of a round baking pan - 9 inches in diameter
and 2 inches high - with shortening or vegetable oil. Line the bottom
with a circle of parchment or aluminum foil. Set aside.
Cut the chocolate into small pieces and melt it with the butter in
the top of a double boiler. (I use a microwave). Remove from heat
and stir until smooth.
Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Add cocoa and sugar to the eggs
and beat with an electric mixer until blended evenly. Drain the figs,
discarding the liquid. Stir figs and chocolate into the egg mixture
and mix well. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until the cake rises to the top
of the pan and feels set in the center, about 40 minutes. Let it cool
in the pan on a wire rack. When cool, turn it out onto a rack. Remove
the parchment or foil, invert the cake into a large serving plate.
Cover it and refrigerate until ready to serve. Accompany with whipped
cream.
Servings: 12 servings
Chocolate Cake With Rum-Spiked Figs Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Alcohol; Cake; Chocolate; Chocolate Cake; Dessert
The History of Recipes
We can trace the history of written recipes way back into history, in fact as far as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and maybe further still. However, sadly, these ancient cookbooks were just very simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for preparing food.
In fact, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a collection of stone tablets in ancient Sumerian which show the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel blissful. Later on, in Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled a collection of documents showing how to cook the recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. In his publication, Apicius tells us how the meals were divided into starters, main course and dessert, something we still use today. This early Roman chef informs us how the early Romans were skilled in the use of many different aromatic flavours, including a few you will know like thyme, fennel and asafoetida. Later on, there were a couple of books published in the 14th Century : a recipe book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, they are not about the indian food that is familiar to us all today, but instead accounts of the types of food cooked for the rich and powerful of the period. Later on in the 1400s, knights returning from the crusades brought back many new foods and spices from Arab countries, including parsley, basil and rosemary. These new foods and spices was responsible for an increase in publications on food, most of which are now in private cookery archives. For the next few years, the upper-class families of the West strove to lay on the most extravagent banquests, and as a consequence, the best cooks and their collection of recipes were highly sought after. Nevertheless, it was during the nineteenth century that fine cookery and recipe books became popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, devoted much of their lives to collating, trying out, and writing down recipes that were common in the better off homes of the day. By the advent of the twentieth century, cookery publications were starting to become popular as a result of more people being able to read, people having more leisure time and being a little richer. The introduction of the TV brings us celebrity TV chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which brings us neatly up to date and the invention of the internet, permitting everybody to access massive numbers of recipes like those on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Chocolate Cake With Rum Spiked Figs recipe.
