Fresh figs with cheese and chocolate
There are a couple of fresh figs left in the fridge after the Snowman’s game. It’s a pity wasting fresh figs, so I made a new recipe.
components
- 1 bag vanilla pudding
- 1 bag whipped cream
- 200 gr Mascarpone cheese
- 2 teaspoons vanilla aroma
- 4-5 tablespoon honey
- 200 gr sugar
- juice of half of a lemon
- grated crust of half of a lemon
- 50 ml water
- 200 ml sweet cream
- pinch of salt
- handful pistachio
- 250 gr dark chocolate
- 600 ml milk
- 2 leafs gelatin- optional
Instruction
- First, we make white filling of cheese, pudding and whipped cream. Melt gelatin following the instructions on the bag.
- Mix whipped cream from the bag by the instructions on the back of the bag (you’ll need milk).
- Mix the pudding by the instruction on the back of the bag (you’ll need milk).
- Manually combine the pudding and whipped cream, add vanilla extract, 2-3 tablespoons of honey (to your liking), melted gelatin and mix it for a couple of seconds using mixer set at the lowest speed.
- Once it’s all combines, put the cream into the fridge.
- Now we make the chocolate part, timed chocolate (see explanation in the text above). Melt one half of the chocolate on steam.
- Remove from the heating source and put the rest of the chocolate in it, stirring until you get a homogenous mass.
- Remove from the heating source and put the rest of the chocolate in it, stirring until you get a homogenous mass.
- When you get spun sugar and its caramel color, add grated lemon crust and stir.
- You need to mix in sugar, water, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, 2 tablespoons of honey for caramel.
- Add timed chocolate into the mass and stir it well, until it’s smooth. This is how we get the chocolate part.
- When you get spun sugar and its caramel color, add grated lemon crust and stir.
- Add sweet cream to the caramel and stir (look at the comments in the text above), until the mass is homogenus.
- Add timed chocolate into the mass and stir it well, until it’s smooth. This is how we get the chocolate part.
- Pour the mascarpone cheese, vanilla pudding and whipped cream mixture into the serving dish (I chose jars of different shapes and size).
- Pour the chocolate part over it.
- Chop eights of fresh figs onto the chocolate part.
- In the end, season it with chopped pistachio and put it in the fridge for at least 3 hours to chill before serving.
Another successful experiment with the combination of flavors.
What is important for this recipe with fresh figs is measuring the time needed to melt the chocolate. That may sound scary, if you have never done that. However, it is not so difficult in reality, and you’ll gain experience in time, so that, eventually, you will laugh at what scared you at first.
Timing chocolate
If you only melt chocolate on steam, without paying special attention to the temperature at which you are doing it, it may happen that, later when it thickens, you don’t get the smooth texture (there are some spots) and a shiny surface. In order to do that, you should time chocolate.
If you cannot estimate the temperature of the melted chocolate by its appearance, you can start using the kitchen thermometer. The tool makes the craft.
If you have the meat thermometer, you can try using that one. However, in case you don’t have even that, try finding one in the stores where kitchen utensils can be found: molds, wooden spoons, brushes, frosting spritzes, etc. They are not expensive.
My looks like this, and I bought it on Amazon:
How to get to the required temperature of the chocolate we are going to use in this recipe with fresh figs:
First step
Break the chocolate into even cubes. Put one half of the chocolate planned for melting in the suitable dish above boiling water and melt it (on steam), stirring it occasionally:
When it melts, check the temperature. The aimed temperatures are:
Around 46°C for dark chocolate;
For white chocolate, it should be 43°C.
If you managed this, remove the chocolate from the heat source, clean the bottom of the dish from the steam.
Second step
Now, you should use the rest of the chocolate you have also broken into cubes, but haven’t melted in the first step.
You should add that chocolate bit by bit, so that it is shinier in the end. New goal temperatures are:
32°C for dark chocolate.
31°C for white and milk chocolate.
The entire process lasts approximately 15 minutes.
Finals and testing
We are now going to check the result of the chocolate timing. If we have achieved all the above-mentioned temperatures (it can vary by one to two degrees above or below the wanted temperature), we take a metal teaspoon and put it in the timed chocolate. Leave it in the fridge for a minute or two for black chocolate, and 4-5 minutes for white or milk chocolate to cool and thicken. If it is not sticky after the fridge and it is a bit shiny, without changing its structure, we have completed our assignment successfully.
This timed chocolate we use in our recipe with fresh figs.
This was the most important part of the recipe.
Other comments
- I bought pudding that doesn’t have to be cooked to make it easier for myself.
- Whipped cream is with sweet cream flavor, it is „C“ brand.
- Take care when you pour sweet cream into the hot caramel, it will scatter all over the place, so do it in a deeper dish. Be persistent when you stir it, in order to bring everything back to its creamy-liquid state.
- You need the milk mentioned in the ingredients to mix whipped cream and pudding. I didn’t add any sugar.
- You can use gelatin leafs but you don’t have to, it’s optional.
- The longer you keep it in the fridge, the better it will taste.
If you have any questions, write!!
Other sweet and savory recipes with fresh figs
Meringue with fresh figs, you can see the photo here.
Fresh figs with goat cheese, photo is here.
I would close this year’s season of fresh figs with this recipe, as far as I concern.
