Chocolate Walnut Fig Cake With Grappa & Cardamom Cream

FORGET THE KIDS. They’re sleeping (maybe at Nona’s house). Or there aren’t any. My Friendship Day Marshmallows post was for them. This, though . . . This is for adults only.

For all my soapbox talk about how anyone—coupled, single; young, old, or in between—should be able to celebrate Valentine’s Day, it is still true that the place of honor goes to lovers each February 14. This weekend we’ll be awash in seduction, in all its guises: tawdry black and red lingerie (or else very fine and expensive unmentionables); champagne, roses, and other gifts; suggestive cards and love poems; chocolate (we’ll get to that in a minute). This is to say nothing of that annual courtship display we recognize as the scramble for a reservation at the right restaurant.

Valentine’s Day is now forty-eight hours away, and odds are, if you’re going to have plans you’ve made them already, or your love interest has. But maybe not. Maybe you have no plans and are panicking. Don’t. It will all work out, I promise. Just stick with me.

First, a confession: I am going to be alone on Valentine’s Day. I almost always am, despite having found someone to whom I became engaged ten years ago; to whom I’ve now been married for eight years. It’s not that we’ve grown apathetic—oh, god, have we?—no, it’s because I am what’s known as a restaurant widow, as good as single on every major “date night” in the calendar. Who can guess how many couples my husband will serve this Sunday, pouring champagne, being a willing accomplice to a marriage proposal or two (diamonds in champagne glasses, ring boxes served with dessert, he’s done it all). I do know one thing: he won’t be serving me.

It’s all right, though, because I’ll be serving myself some of this:

What? It doesn’t look like much? Don’t be fooled. Take a look at what’s inside:

This, dear readers, is a wicked-temptress chocolate cake. A sexy cake, bursting with the sensual aroma of forbidden fruit. Think Adam and Eve in Eden. Then go one step farther and think about why they needed fig leaves. Forget apples. If there is a paradise—and if there is a sinful (but delicious) fall from it—this cake is it.

Even better, it’s easy to make. But a word of caution here: Please, don’t let “easy” mean you make this cake for just anyone. It’s not a tart, after all. Make this cake for someone special, someone you love—that person could even be you. If you do, nothing else will matter. Not the dishes in the sink, not your child’s Jack-in-the-Box routine at bedtime, not another year alone. None of it.

To send you on your way this weekend, I wish you your fill of love, flirtation, seduction, and chemistry for Valentine’s Day. Of course I do. Just remember to save a little room for dessert.

Chocolate Walnut Fig Cake with Grappa

and Cardamom Cream

This flourless chocolate cake was inspired by a Ligurian (Italian) recipe called “Torta di Noci e Canditi” from Michele Scicolone’s book, La Dolce Vita. I used the same proportions of chocolate, eggs, and sugar, but changed up the ingredients a little bit to showcase my favorites: walnuts, which are traditional, with figs and grappa. If nuts and dried fruit can put you off, fear not. This is one of the moistest, most decadent cakes around. For good measure, I also add a dollop of whipped cream spiked with cardamom. One bite and you’ll know you really have found the sweet life.

Yield: One 9-inch cake

Ingredients:

For the chocolate cake

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1-1/3 cup walnuts

6 large eggs, separated

2/3 cups sugar, divided

2 tablespoons grappa

2/3 cups finely chopped dried figs (small dice), stalk ends removed

confectioner’s sugar for dusting (optional)

For the cardamom cream

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Method:

With a rack set in the middle position, preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and lightly flour a 9-inch springform cake pan, tapping out excess flour.

Place the chocolate in a food processor fitted with a steel blade (or in a blender with food-processing capabilities), and give it a few whirls to chop further. Add walnuts and process until finely ground.

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks until well blended. Gradually add 1/3 cup of the sugar and beat until fully incorporated; the mixture should be thickened, almost fluffy, and very light in color. Beat in the grappa, then beat in the chocolate-walnut mixture and the figs.

With clean beaters on high speed, beat the egg whites until foamy. Beat in the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and continue until soft peaks form. Fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate to lighten. Gradually fold in the rest of the egg whites, combining thoroughly but using as few strokes as possible.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is puffed but the center is still moist. Cool completely on a wire rack. The cake will fall a bit and shrink away from the sides of the pan; that’s fine. When the cake is cooled, run a spatula or knife around the rim and release the sides of the pan. If desired, sprinkled the cake with a light dusting of confectioner’s sugar.

Make the cardamom cream. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat on high speed until soft peaks form (or to your desired consistency). Serve alongside slices of cake and pass extra on the side.

A Note on Dried Figs and Grappa:

It does make a difference to use very soft dried figs; sometimes, though, you end up with tough ones, and in that case, you might want to try plumping the figs first in a bit of warm water. If you do this, make sure to drain and pat dry the figs, though, to avoid excess moisture in the cake. For the grappa, I like to use a lovely citrus tree honey grappa from Nonino Gioiello, but you should use whatever you have on hand; for baking, you do not need an expensive one.

Tagged as: chocolate, cravings, figs, italian, pure indulgence, spiked