Shared a wonderful evening with my fellow actors and friends, drinks, dinner and great conversation

We each bought a homemade dish and I of course being a Pastry Chef, made dessert

I would like to share these recipes of these two delicious cakes

Olive Oil-Thyme Cake

with Figs and Black Pepper

12 servings

 

Cake Ingredients:

 3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of pastry flour (if you don't have pastry flour, you can use all purpose flour)

1/4  cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons bread flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 large egg yolks

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoon sugar

5 large egg whites

Method:

-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

-Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and coat lightly with non stick vegetable oil spray.

-In a medium bowl, stir the pastry flour with the bread flour and baking powder.

-In a large bowl, mix the egg yolks with the olive oil, water, thyme, salt and vanilla and 3/4 cups, plus 1 tablespoon of the sugar.

-With a handheld electric mixer, beat the egg yolk mixture until very frothy, about 3 minutes. Add the flour mixture and mix at low speed until the flour is fully incorporated.

-In a clean bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the egg whites are thick and glossy, about 4 minutes. 

-Scoop a cup of whites into the batter and stir until combined. Fold the remaining egg whites into the batter until no streaks remain.

-Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes, until the cake is golden and starts to pull away from the sides. Set pan on a rack and let the cake cool completely, about one hour.

-Cut cakes into 12 rectangles and plate, spooning some of the figs and their juices onto the cake with a dollop of sour cream.

Figs

Fig Recipe

1 pound fresh figs, quartered or sliced

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped thyme, plus 12 thyme sprigs for garnish

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup Sour Cream 

-In a medium bowl, toss the figs with the sugar, olive oil, chopped thyme, black pepper and salt. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, until the figs begin to soften and release their juices.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake 

Yield: 12 cupcake size Cheesecakes

Ingredients

For the Crust

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (Oreos)

2 tablespoons of melted butter

1 tablespoon sugar

For the Cheesecake

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup of Nutella (Italian Chocolate Hazelnut Spread)

2/3 cup sugar

1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

Dash of Vanilla Extract

Pinch of salt

For the Ganache 

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chops or in chip form (the higher quality, the better)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Method:

1-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the cupcake cake pan with aluminum baking cups.

2-To make the crust, combine the chocolate cookie crumbs, melted butter and sugar in a small bowl. Mix with a fork until evenly blended. Divide the crust mixture between the 12 baking cups. Press down into a flat layer. Bake for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

3-Reduce oven to 300 degrees F. To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese, sour cream and Nutella in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium high speed until smooth and blended. Add the sugar and mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the eggs, vanilla and salt. Continue to beat until the mixture is completely smooth.

4-Divided the mixture evenly over the cookie crumb crusts and smooth the top slightly. Bake just until set about 22 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.

5-Transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Once completely cool, transfer the pan to the refrigerator and chill thoroughly, at least 3 hours.

6-To make the Ganache, place the chopped or chips chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Once, simmering, remove from the heat and immediately pour over the chocolate. Let stand 1-2 minutes. Whisk in small circular motions until a smooth Ganache has formed.

7-Let the mixture stand at room temperature until slightly thickened for piping onto the cheesecakes. Once the Ganache has thickened, transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip and pipe a large rosette on each cheesecake. Refrigerate until the ganache is set.