Chocolate fig naked cake recipe

Use an electric whisk to mix the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and creamy. Add the eggs and whisk again. Fold in the flour, baking powder and buttermilk or sour cream using a spatula, until incorporated.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.

Put the figs in a roasting pan and sprinkle over the sugar. Drizzle over the honey and dot each fig with a little butter. Bake in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes, until the figs are soft but still retain their shape. Let cool, but leave the oven on to cook the cake.

Fold the cocoa powder into the cake batter and divide the mixture equally between the prepared cake pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 20–30 minutes, until the cakes spring back to the touch and a knife inserted into the centre of each cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the buttercream, whisk together the icing/confectioners’ sugar, butter and cream cheese until you have a smooth stiff icing, adding a little milk if the mixture is too stiff.

Using a large serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally. Place one half on a serving plate or cake stand and spread with a little of the buttercream. Spoon over some of the lemon curd and top with a second cake half. Repeat with the remaining cakes. Spread the remaining buttercream thinly around the edge of the cake, so that you can still just see the layers. Dust with icing/confectioners’ sugar and drizzle the top with white chocolate in pretty patterns.

To decorate, cut the baked figs in half and arrange on top and around the base of the cake. Serve straight away. The cake will store for up to 2 days in an airtight container, but only decorate with the figs just before serving.