Walnut Fig Honey Cake with Raspberry

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To inaugurate the advanced cake and entremet mastery, here is my latest creation: a symphony of late-summer fruit, nutty warmth, and ethereal lightness. Being a professional pastry chef, I will always guide you toward the most effective way to achieve the best results. And among these precious tips is the organization—the silent backbone of every great pâtissier’s work. Many things can indeed be made ahead of time, such as the sablée crust and genoise sponge. Prepare them days in advance, and you’ve already won half the battle. This is one of the most accomplished tasty cakes—an entremet in the truest French sense, where textures converse and flavors layer like verses in a poem. The base is a baked sablée crust, golden and crusty-crousty, filled with a honey-walnut cream that brings a deep, almost caramelized earthiness. Upon that rests a thin, jewel-like fig marmalade. Then comes a light genoise disc—soaked in a light raspberry punch. And above is where the magic lifts off: a luscious raspberry mousse, airy as a blush, dotted with whole framboises that burst with tart brightness. Another genoise disc follows, then more of that same pink, pillowy mousse. After being frozen to set its soul, the cake is crowned with a fig-confit dome—glossy and intense—and decorated with an incredible fig leaf-infused white chocolate mousse. Let’s dive into the world of the real deal French gâteau.

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A symphony of late-summer fruit, nutty warmth, and ethereal lightness...

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In the food processor, turn walnuts needed for the crust and walnut cream into meal; reserve in a deli container.

Walnut Sugar Dough

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter along with the salt, sugar, and almond and walnut meal on medium-high speed until smooth. Do not hesitate to warm the bowl over a water bath or using a kitchen blowtorch if the butter shows some stiffness. Incorporate the egg. Once homogenized, combine the flour and baking powder and add them to the butter-egg mixture on low speed. Mix until the dough comes together.
Wrap the dough in cling film or use an opened freezer bag, and chill for a few hours or for up to 5 days.
How to make and line a tart shell.

Walnut-Honey Cream

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the softened butter with the honey and walnut meal.
Beat on medium-high speed until a creamy consistency is reached. Gradually add the eggs, and continue whipping.
Store the walnut cream in a deli container or bowl. Use at room temperature.

Par-Baking Tart Shell

Preheat a fan-assisted oven to 320°F (160°C). Blind-bake for 15 minutes, then remove the pie weights. Slide the pre-baked tart shell onto the work surface to cool faster.
Once at room temperature, pipe in the walnut cream (225g per tart).

Baking

Return the pie to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Let cool.
Spread fig marmalade over the walnut pie. Keep refrigerated or frozen.

Roasting Figs

When making fruit-based ice cream, roasting some fruit first is a game-changer for flavor. Removing roughly half the fruit's moisture concentrates its natural sweetness while caramelizing the sugars. For a striking reddish hue, opt for Black Mission figs. Small, ripe figs can be roasted whole after splitting in half—no peeling required but stems removed.
Larger commercial figs, however, should be peeled first. Roast as per the linked recipe, or simply drizzle with honey and roast for 30 minutes at 360°F (180°C). Allow to cool completely, then transfer to a saucepan.

Fig Confit Dome

The fig dome will be placed on top of the finished cake. It can also be shaped into a thick disc or made using a fancy silicone mold (use 400g per cake).
Soak the gelatin sheets in ice water until softened, then drain and squeeze out the excess water. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and pectin. Meanwhile, heat the roasted figs puree with the glucose and blend with an immersion blender. Add the sugar-pectin mixture, stir, and bring to a boil, then add the lemon juice. Remove from the heat and mix in the bloomed gelatin.
If using a stainless steel pastry bowl, wipe the inside with a damp sponge and line the inside with plastic wrap. Fill the prepared dome, ring, or silicone mold with the warm fig confit mixture. Freezer overnight. Chill the remaining fig confit. Once set, beat with a rubber spatula. It will be use to fill teh raspberries and dots on the finished cake.

Glazing the Fig Confit Dome

To ease removal, quickly pour hot water over the bottom of the frozen bowl, then unmold onto a baking tray lined with plastic wrap and placed on a cooling rack. Keep frozen until ready to glaze.
Gently heat the neutral glaze to 105ºF (40-45ºC), then glaze the frozen fig dome using a ladle. Slide an offset spatula underneath it, transfer it to a frozen tray, and freeze. Gather the plastic wrap and save the neutral glaze drips by squeezing it.

Ganache Montée Infused with Fig Leave

Soak the gelatin sheets in ice water to soften, then drain and squeeze out the excess water. *Fig leaf can be substituted with a few verbena leaves. Be aware that the fragrance of verbena is stronger than that of fig leaf. Rinse the fig leaves, pat them dry, and cut them into pieces.
In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream and fig leaves. When hot (do not let it boil), remove from the heat, cover with a lid, and let stand for 30 minutes. Then refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to infuse.
The next day, strain through a sieve, pressing the leaves to extract as much liquid as possible. Reheat the fig leaf–infused heavy cream over low heat.
Meanwhile, melt white chocolate over a bain-marie on a gentle heat. Remove from the heat once just melted.
When the fig-leaf infused heavy cream is boiling, remove from the heat and pour into the chocolate and blend with the an immersion blender. Add in the bloomed gelatin, blend and then add the remaining chilled heavy cream. Mix well and refrigerate the ganache montée overnight to set completely before whipping.

Simple Syrup

In a small saucepan, heat water and sugar. Bring to boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the stove. Add the alcohol or raspberry puree or both to taste; let cool.

Limoncello Gel

In a small saucepan, heat the lemon juice, limoncello, and water. Combine the sugar with the agar, then whisk the mixture into the warm liquid. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes, whisking occasionally. Let cool, then chill overnight. To turn the limoncello jelly into a gel, smooth it out using an immersion blender. Transfer the mixture to a small piping bag and freeze (it won't harden completely).

Raspberry Mousse

Italian meringue can be made ahead of time. Spread meringue onto a tray lined with plastic wrap. Keep it frozen.
Soak the gelatin sheets in ice water until softened, then drain and squeeze out the excess water. Heat the raspberry purée with the sugar to about 140°F (60°C). Remove from the heat and whisk in the bloomed gelatin.
Transfer the raspberry purée to a large pastry bowl and let it cool to 25–30°C. Whip the chilled heavy cream to medium-soft peaks (keep it supple).
Fold the whipped cream into the cold Italian meringue.
To finalize the mousse, using a whisk, fold one-third of the whipped cream–meringue mixture into the tempered raspberry mixture, then incorporate the remainder.

Cake Assembly

For 2 cakes, you will need four 0.60-inch (1.5cm) thick genoise discs.
Line the walnut pie with the first genoise disc. Moisten it with some raspberry syrup.
Place the acetate cake collar around the pie and the cake ring. Depending on the final cake size and height you wish to obtain, the gap left between the pie and the ring may vary. It will be filled with the raspberry mousse in any case.
Ladle out the first layer of raspberry mousse, then tuck in some raspberries. Top with the second genoise and moisten it with the raspberry syrup.
Add more mousse, but not all the way to the top—leave a half-inch free space if using the tall charlotte cake ring (it will be filled with the ganache montée later). Give the cake a few gentle taps on the counter, then freeze for at least 12 hours before unmolding.
If using the 9×2⅓-inch (23×6 cm) cake ring, fill the cake to the top. Freeze overnight.

De-molding Frozen Cake

Quickly warm up cake ring with the hair dryer. Remove cake ring and transfer cake onto the cake board. Put the cake back to the freezer. At this point, the cake can be frozen for up to 4 months.
Remove the acetate cake collar, and carefully place the glazed fig confit dome in the center of the frozen cake. Keep cake in the freezer.
👉 I chose to dress only one cake (9x2⅓-inch /23x6cm) with the fig confit. The taller cake will be finished differently.

Whipping Ganache Montée

In the chilled mixing bowl, whip the fig-leaf flavored ganache montée to medium-soft peaks. Avoid over whipping otherwise the final texture will be compromised. So, stay close to your stand mixer!
Finish and fill the tall frozen cake with some of the whipped ganache montée.
Even out the cake with a large offset spatula; and freeze.

The Art of Piping

Coating a cake with ganache montée offers endless possibilities. Its viscosity makes it unique for covering and decorating cakes. But that's not all—it is also known as an excellent eggless mousse, widely used by pastry chefs to make individual cakes en trompe l'oeil. We will see that in the following episodes.
Always pipe your frozen cake according to the theme. Here, we are using fig and raspberry, so the decoration should visually resemble the roughness of the fruits.
Use a flat end piping tip or cut the end of your pastry bag on the bias. Alternatively, you can use a Saint-Honoré piping tip or medium aperture open star tip. Practice your piping motions on a plate before decorating your cakes.
Pipe the entire cake with the ganache montée, starting from the edges. Freeze the cake overnight before glazing, or for up to 4 months if wrapped in cling film.

The Finishing Touch

To give your cake a velvet effect, follow the chocolate spray tutorial. Freeze the glazed cake for up to

Garnishing

Let the cake thaw for 16 to 24 hours before decorating and cutting. Gently reheat the neutral mirror glaze to 45°C, then brush it over the fig wedges to give them a glossy finish. Raspberries can be halved, or their cavities can be stuffed with some of the remaining fig confit.
Arrange your fruits artfully on the cake, and add dots of fig confit and limoncello gel here and there, and mint. Enjoy!

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