Today we talk about this sumptuous and exquisite refrigerator cake, a cheesecake with fresh figs and chocolate, a true delight. It is a spoon dessert enjoyed cold, requires no baking, and should be prepared at least a day in advance to allow all aromas and flavors to blend perfectly. This delicious cake can successfully be made with gluten-free and lactose-free ingredients without sacrificing its extraordinary yumminess.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 12 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 12
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer, Autumn
Ingredients
- 8.8 oz cocoa dry biscuits (also gluten-free)
- 6.35 tbsp hot melted butter (also lactose-free)
- to taste grated zest of a lemon
- 1 2/3 cups fresh liquid cream (also lactose-free)
- 12.35 oz cream cheese (also lactose-free)
- 2 tbsp caster sugar (generous)
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- to taste vanilla paste or liquid
- 1.1 lbs ripe figs
- 1.76 oz melted dark chocolate
- 0.35 oz butter
Steps
To make the cheesecake cream with figs and chocolate, it is necessary that the cream and cream cheese are well chilled.
Let’s start with preparing the biscuit base.
Line the bottom and sides of a round springform pan, 8.5 or 9.5 inches in diameter, with parchment paper.
Put the cocoa biscuits in a blender with a very fine grating of lemon zest and reduce them to powder.
Melt the butter in a double boiler: on the smallest burner, on low heat, heat a small amount of water in a saucepan.
In the meantime, cut the butter into pieces, place it in a taller saucepan (which can be slightly smaller or equal to the one containing the water) and place it inside or on top of the one with the water (the water should never touch or end up in the butter).
As soon as the butter becomes liquid, lift the saucepan from the double boiler, dry its bottom without burning yourself, and pour it immediately over the biscuits; mix quickly with a fork to perfectly soak them in melted butter.
Pour the mixture into the pan we had already lined with parchment paper, level it with a meat hammer (or alternatively, the back of a spoon).
Close the pan in the cake carrier and let the biscuit and butter base set in the fridge for at least two hours.
After two hours, prepare the cream cheese.
Drain the cream cheese of any liquid present in the package.
Pour the cold cream from the fridge into a mixer bowl and begin to whip it with electric whisks. As soon as the cream starts to become a bit thicker, immediately add the cheese, sugar, a tip of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and vanilla.
Continue whipping for no more than a minute; you will get a firm and fluffy cream. Taste to evaluate the sweetness, but do not overdo it with sugar, especially if the figs are very sweet, like the ones I used for my cheesecake.
Wash the figs. You can decide to cut some in half and leave others whole, especially the smaller ones.
Let the figs dry on a kitchen towel, patting them very, very gently to avoid damaging them.
Decorate the cheesecake with the figs according to your artistic flair.
Now we only have the dark chocolate left, which we will also melt (along with the 0.35 oz of butter) in a double boiler, as described above, ensuring that no water gets into the chocolate, compromising the result.
When the chocolate is perfectly melted, remove the saucepan from the double boiler and let it cool for a minute, stirring often.
After a minute, pour the melted chocolate into a small piping bag or a cone made from parchment paper, as described here
Using the cone or piping bag (after cutting off the tip), decorate the cake with stripes more or less fine depending on the size of the cut tip.
Put the cheesecake back in the cake carrier, place it in the fridge, and let it rest and absorb the flavors for at least 12 hours.
