Succulents and cement cake

Serves 10 Prep time 1½-2 hours
Cook time 1 hour

olive thyme financier
280g unsalted butter
5g thyme leaves
50g olive oil
200g all-purpose flour
435g icing sugar
15g salt
200g almond powder
10g baking powder
565g egg whites

• Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two 6-inch by 2-inch square and two 4-inch by 2-inch round cake tins.
• In a saucepan, heat butter with thyme on medium heat for 30 minutes, until the butter browns and is infused with thyme. Mix in olive oil and heat to 90°C, then strain mixture.
• Sift together all dry ingredients.
• Using a paddle attachment, whip egg whites on high speed, then lower to slowest speed and slowly add in the dry mixture.
• Add hot thyme oil to the mixture while still whipping. Mix until well-combined.
• Pour batter in cake rings and bake for 30-45 minutes.

fig and strawberry compote
25g sugar
22g molasses
330g strawberries, roughly chopped
550g fresh figs, roughly chopped
11g orange zest
22ml rum
11g pectin NH

• Heat 15g sugar and molasses in a saucepan on medium heat and caramelise, or until the mixture reaches 150°C.
• Add chopped strawberries and figs, then simmer until tender. The fruits should become very soft.
• Mix in orange zest and rum.
• Combine pectin and remaining 10g sugar in a bowl, then mix into the saucepan mixture and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Take mixture off the heat, cover with cling film, then let the mixture cool at room temperature for 2-3 hours.

to assemble
fondant exterior
fondant succulents, as desired

• Cut each olive thyme financier cake horizontally into 3 layers.
• In a 6-inch by 2-inch square mould, place 1 layer of the square cake at the bottom and spread 100g of compote on top.
• Repeat the process until you use all the 3 layers of sponge altogether in one ring.
• Repeat the previous 2 steps with a 4-inch by 2-inch round mould, then stack on top of the 6-inch by 2-inch square cake.
• Freeze the whole cake overnight.
• Wrap cakes with fondant exterior. Create cement texture by carving ridges in the fondant layer and using edible paint to make the cracks look realistic.
• Decorate cake with fondant succulents, then serve.

Excerpt from the February 2017 issue of epicure.

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