Figs. Cake. Repeat.

As much as I love sweets, sometimes i'm a little disappointed by a restaurant's dessert-making skills (I'm talking to you, Souplantation). It's happened to all of us. You have an awesome meal, only to be greeted by dry cake, watery creme brulee, or a cannoli that's seen better days. 

I say screw 'em. Go out for an awesome meal, and come home to a homemade dessert!

My awesome friend Sara recently sent me this recipe for  Olive Oil Pistachio Cake with Fig Compote Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting posted on the ever-delicious "In The Kitchen" series over at Design Sponge. 

Say what? 

Yeah. I love Sara.

The cake is good too. It's really really good.

My experience with figs, other than Fig Newtons, is pretty much non-existent. Fate smiled down on me this morning though, when fresh figs and pistachios happened to be on sale at this awesome produce place down the street. Double score!

It's as easy as baking a cake...

(I have a weird obsession with vintage Pyrex)

Cooking down some figs...

And shellacking on some frosting.... (is that word?)

I had been meaning to try out an olive oil cake for a while, and this was the perfect opportunity. With the addition of pistachios and figs, the whole thing has this Mediterranean vibe. The cake is super moist, not very sweet, and the tartness of the figs hold up to the decadent cream cheese frosting... do yourself a favor and bake this cake. Then write Sara a thank you card. She's one of my kitchen heroes. Just wait until i get my hands on her doughy nutty cream cheesy dough ball recipe... 

Here's the recipe with a few modifications from Design Sponge:

Pistachio Olive Oil Cake

1 cup shelled (salted and roasted) pistachios
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 8×8 inch baking pan with olive oil.

Pulse pistachios in a food processor until the texture of big sand. Alternatively, you can put them in a Ziploc gallon bag and beat them with a wine bottle or rolling pin.

In a bowl, whisk ground pistachios, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar until combined.  Add oil and milk, and whisk for a couple minutes until everything is well blended.  Add eggs and lemon juice and beat until mixed.  

Pour batter into greased pan.  Bake for about 35 minutes, or until edges are lightly brown, and inserted knife comes out clean.  

Fresh Fig Compote

1.5-2 cups fresh figs

Juice from one large orange (1/3-1/2 cup)

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon honey (or agave sweetner)

Chop figs into about 1/2 inch pieces. Cook them down along with juice and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until most of the liquid is gone (about 20 minutes). Stir in the honey after taking them off the heat, and allow mixture to cool. 

*Note - you can also use dried figs if you can't find any fresh ones... just up the water to 1 1/2 cups

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 block cream cheese (softened)

1/2 stick butter (softened)

2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a small bowl, whisk together the softened cream cheese and butter until they are well combined. Mix in the vanilla, and begin to add the sugar in batches, whisking well before adding more.

Assembly

1. Slice the cake in half

2. Slather fig compote in between layers

3. Frost the top

4. Eat