White Chocolate & Cherry Drunken Figs

In the West Village of New York City, I bought something called a drunken fig. It was a whole dried fig, stuffed with port-infused fig and chocolate filling and dipped in dark chocolate. It was pretty good, I liked the fig and chocolate combination, but the filling wasn’t drunken enough and the whole thing was a little bit too dry. I thought I could do better. Tod & I brainstormed a luscious variation.

In our version the figs are soaked in cherry brandy, filled with white chocolate ganache and dipped in dark chocolate. The result is sweet, fruity and sinfully rich. At about 200 calories each, you might want to serve them split in half to reveal the pretty insides.

White Chocolate & Cherry Drunken Figs
makes 9

9 dried Turkish figs
cherry brandy
100 grams white chocolate
50 ml heavy cream
pinch salt
pinch nutmeg
100 grams dark chocolate

Cover the figs with brandy. Soak for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Finely chop the white chocolate and place it in a metal bowl. (Metal helps conduct the heat to melt the chocolate in the next step.) Add the salt and nutmeg tot the cream and bring to a simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Refrigerate to cool.

When the ganache is cooled and the figs are soaked, drain the figs and gently squeeze out any excess liqueur. Remove the ganache from the fridge and whisk it into a slight fluffiness.

Using your pinky, carefully poke a hole in the fig on the flat bottom where there is probably already a small crack. You’ll be able to open up the cavity inside the fig with your finger. Stuff in a teaspoon or two of ganache. This is messy, but kind of fun. You can use a pastry tube if you prefer, but I find the ganache too stiff to press through easily.

Any leftover ganache can be made into white truffles by forming them into balls (make sure the ganache is well chilled or it will melt in your hands) and rolling in minced nuts or cocoa powder.

Finely chop up the dark chocolate. In a double boiler, melt 2/3 of the chocolate, then remove from the heat and add the remaining chocolate, stirring until it melts. Dip or roll the figs in the chocolate to coat them and dry /cool on waxed paper.

While researching for this recipe, I came across this helpful and excellent madly scientific article on tempering chocolate.
I understand the mystery of heating chocolate now!

Posted by kuri at December 09, 2007 09:55 AM