Home · Recipes · Desserts & Baking · Cake Recipes Caramel Fig Chocolate Cake Author: Maryanne CabreraPublished: Sep 8, 2016Updated: Nov 16, 2023 View Recipe36 ReviewsThis post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy. Caramel fig chocolate cake is a simple yet elegant cake perfect for all sorts of occasions. Four layers of dark chocolate cake sandwiched with fig jam, frosted with caramel buttercream, and topped with salted caramel drizzle and sliced fresh figs. The BER months are here! The BER months are here! No matter how old I get, I’ll always get excited for what my dad and I fondly call the BER months :SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER, DecemBER. Once the BER months hit, it’s time to sing and dance, be merry, and smile until your cheeks hurt. Caramel Fig Chocolate Cake If chocolate and figs were humans, I think they’d be best friends. They just get along so well together. Proof: fig fudge popsicles & caramelized fig and chocolate chunk ice cream. If figs were in season all year long, I’d make this caramel fig chocolate cake at least once a month. Dark chocolate cake, fig jam, and caramel Swiss buttercream. When eaten together, these flavors are so magical and delicious. Chocolate Cake Layers This recipe makes two 6-inch chocolate cake rounds. The two cakes are split in half to create a total of four layers. The chocolate cake gets its flavor from unsweetened cocoa powder and instant espresso powder. You may use natural cocoa powder or Dutch processed cocoa powder. Natural cocoa powder will result in a lighter colored cake. Dutch processed cocoa creates a richer, darker chocolate colored cake. I have tested the recipe using both cocoa powders. Honestly, I couldn’t taste the difference. The color of the cake layers was the most significant difference. Caramel Sauce I highly recommend the fleur de sel caramel sauce (salted caramel) from Trader Joe’s. That’s the caramel I used for this recipe. Stonewall Kitchen sea salt caramel sauce is another great option. And of course, homemade caramel sauce is the way to go when you have extra time! The addition of instant espresso powder in the batter greatly enhances the chocolate cake by highlighting the rich cocoa flavors of the cake. The slightly bitter yet sweet and silky buttercream just melts in your mouth. And my favorite component of this cake is the fig jam. You can find fig jam at speciality stores and well-stocked supermarkets. Or, you can easily make a homemade version. Love and Olive Oil has a great fig jam recipe here. Make Cake Components Ahead of Time Chocolate Cake Bake the chocolate cake in advance. Cool cake to room temperature then tightly wrap in plastic wrap.Keep cake in the freezer for up to two weeks. To defrost frozen cake, allow to thaw at room temperature overnight. Swiss Buttercream Prepare buttercream according to recipe instructions. Store in an airtight container in the fridge overnight.Take buttercream out of the fridge. Let sit at room temperature for several hours until softened.Revitalized buttercream using a sturdy whisk or beat with a paddle attachment in stand mixer until smooth, light, and fluffy.Buttercream may also be frozen in an airtight container for up to a month. Defrost at room temperature overnight. Whisk once softened to revitalize. Caramel Fig Chocolate Cake 5 from 1 vote Caramel Fig Chocolate Cake is a simple yet elegant cake perfect for all sorts of occasions. Four layers of dark chocolate cake sandwiched with fig jam, frosted with caramel buttercream, and topped with salted caramel drizzle and sliced fresh figs.Yield: 6-inch layer cake Prep Time: 30 minutes minutesCook Time: 30 minutes minutesAssembly:: 15 minutes minutesTotal Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes Servings: 10 Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe IngredientsChocolate Cake:▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour (260 g)▢ ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (40 g)▢ 1 Tablespoon instant espresso powder (7 g)▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda▢ 1 teaspoon fine sea salt▢ ½ cup coconut oil* (113 g)▢ 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar (250 g)▢ 2 large eggs, room temp▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract▢ ⅔ cup whole milk (150 g) room temp▢ 1 cup sour cream (227 g) room tempCaramel Swiss Buttercream:▢ 6 large egg whites, (210 g), about ¾ cup▢ 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (250 g)▢ 2 cups unsalted butter, (452 g) room temp▢ 3 Tablespoons salted caramel sauce*, homemade or store-boughtOther Components:▢ fig jam▢ salted caramel sauce▢ fresh figs Instructions Chocolate Cake:Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two 6-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Lightly grease and set aside.Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together coconut oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until combined. On low speed, alternate adding dry flour mixture and milk. Add about 1/3 of flour mixture, followed with half of the milk. Add another 1/3 of flour and remaining milk. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing. Add sour cream and remaining flour. Mix until combined and there are no longer any streaks of dry flour.Divide batter between prepared cake pans. Level batter. Bake for 28-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in pan for 3-5 minutes before unmolding. Allow cakes to cool to room temperature on wire rack.Caramel Swiss Buttercream:In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together egg whites and sugar. Place bowl over a pot of simmering water to create a double boiler. Make sure simmering water does not touch the bowl. Whisk sugar egg mixture until it reaches a temperature of 160ºF. Alternatively, if you don’t have a thermometer, heat until all the sugar has melted. You can test test by dipping a finger into the warm mixture and rubbing it between your fingers. The mixture should be smooth. You should not be able to feel the granules of sugar.Return bowl to the stand mixer. With a whisk attachment, beat mixture at medium speed until it cools to room temperature. Reduce speed to low and add butter one tablespoon at a time. Once all the butter is incorporated, add caramel. Increase speed to medium-high and continue to beat until buttercream is light and fluffy.Assembly:Once cake is cooled, slice each cake into two equal layers. To build the cake, place one layer on a serving platter or cake turntable. Spread a layer of fig jam over cake. Spread a layer of caramel buttercream. Place another cake layer and repeat until you have the fourth cake layer on top. Spread a thin layer of buttercream around the sides of the cake to seal in the crumbs (crumb coat). Place in the fridge and allow to chill for 15 minutes to set the buttercream. Drizzle caramel sauce over the edges of the cake. Top cake with sliced figs. Allow cake to come to room temperature before serving. Notes Use either refined or unrefined coconut oil. Or sub in neutral flavored oil such as vegetable oil or grapeseed oil. Keep in mind: unrefined or virgin coconut oil will have a milk coconut flavor. I recommend the caramel sauce from Trader Joe’s. Cake Prep and Storage: You can bake the chocolate cake in advance. Cool cake to room temperature then tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Keep cake in the freezer for up to two weeks. To defrost frozen cake, allow to thaw at room temperature overnight. All images and text ©The Little Epicurean NutritionCalories: 824kcal | Carbohydrates: 82g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 36g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 150mg | Sodium: 469mg | Potassium: 223mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 60g | Vitamin A: 1364IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 2mg Author: Maryanne Cabrera Course: DessertCuisine: American Did you make this recipe?Show us on Instagram! Tag @littleepicurean and hashtag #littleepicurean.
Lindsay says: September 9, 2016 I’m convinced that figs are the world’s prettiest fruit. Seriously gorgeous! Reply
Michelle De La Cerda says: September 9, 2016 Those figs are beautiful. I am loving the naked cake look. This looks amazing! Reply
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says: September 9, 2016 The BER months – I love that!! My favorite season too! This cake is stunning! I adore this type of styling for cakes. Also, figs and chocolate – swoon! Reply
Laura at I Heart Naptime says: September 10, 2016 The BER months are my favorites, too! And this cake looks absolutely amazing! Cannot wait to try it! Reply
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says: September 10, 2016 This sounds like it will now be my favorite cake in the world! I LOVE figs and how beautiful is this?! Just amazing! Congrats on your upcoming wedding! Very exciting! Reply
carrie @ frugal foodie mama says: September 10, 2016 Can I be your best friend & can you bake this for me for my birthday (it was 9 days ago)? lol! ;) This is a gorgeous cake! And congrats on the upcoming nuptials! Reply
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says: September 14, 2016 Oh my goodness, that cake is simply breathtaking! Reply
Matt @ RoughEats says: September 29, 2016 I too love BER months! I also love the look of the cake, beautiful shots. Reply
Zach says: October 2, 2017 Quick question – in the cake recipe you talk about adding milk. There is no milk in the cake ingredients though. Was there an amendment of some sort? Reply
Mary Berry says: July 13, 2019 Directions say to use two 6-inch cake pans but photo shows four layers. I would love to make the four layers. How would I do that using this recipe? Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: July 15, 2019 Under assembly directions: the two cakes are sliced in half, resulting with 4 layers total.
Aly says: July 14, 2019 This looks amazing! I want to make this for a wedding. How many servings do you think this would yield? The wedding will have 26 people. Any advice on scaling the portions up? Reply
Nina says: September 10, 2019 I made this cake today and the batter was delicious but there is no way this can fit into only two 6″ cake pans. More like 4 Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: September 10, 2019 I used two 6-inch round cake pans (3-inch depth). Then, I sliced each cake into two layers to end up with a total of four layers.
Pam says: October 6, 2019 This is a question regarding the Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream used in your Caramel Fig Chocolate Cake. I made my own Salted Caramel sauce which is pretty tasty but found I needed way more caramel than 3 Tablespoons to get the flavor to come through when making your buttercream recipe. The recipe I used for the Salted Caramel has a pretty intense caramel flavor but ended up using about 8 Tbs.. It’s somewhat risky to add too much of any flavoring as it ends up diluting the buttercream. So I’m wondering if the 3 Tbs in the recipe was correct? Thank you Pam Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: October 7, 2019 Hi Pam! Yes, the 3 tablespoons of caramel in the buttercream is correct. I used store-bought caramel (from Trader Joe’s) which tends to be thicker and sweeter than homemade caramel.
Jodie says: October 8, 2019 I just found this recipe and I love figs, chocolate and especially caramel. However, I don’t own 6″ cake pans. Do you think I can use 2 8″ pans? Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: October 9, 2019 Yes, you can use two 8-inch cake pans. However, you will have to reduce the cooking time to prevent overcooking the cake.
Laura says: July 28, 2020 Hi, I am making this beautiful cake for my birthday! I’ve made the caramel sauce in advance and I was wondering if you can make the buttercream in advance too (2 days in advance). For the cake I only have 8″ fairly shallow tins – do you think this could potentially work with 3 x 8″ cakes? Thanks for the recipe! Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: July 28, 2020 Happy upcoming birthday! The cake batter can baked in two 8-inch cake pans. Adjust baking time by 5-10 minutes less. I suggest making the buttercream a day in advance. Any longer, and you risk the buttercream absorbing unwanted flavors from the fridge.
Sara Smyth says: August 13, 2020 This looks amazing. I’ve never had a fig but was thinking of trying this. My one concern is the sweetness level- between caramel buttercream and jam filling, would you say it’s fairly sweet? Thank you! Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: August 13, 2020 It’s a dessert, it will be inherently sweet. However, it is not cloying sweet. The use of unsweetened cocoa powder and espresso powder balances out the sweetness of the chocolate cake. I use a minimal amount of buttercream to keep the cake balanced.
Deanna says: May 5, 2021 Well, I used two 6” pans, there was to much batter. And, my fault I guess, I shouldn’t have used it all, it turned into a mess. Thank goodness I put a tray under the cake pans. I liked the flavour of some I tasted before I tossed it out. I may try it again, have to toss some or go to a 3 rd 6” pan Reply
Charlotte says: October 2, 2021 This was the most wonderful cake. The best cake I’ve ever made in fact! We had it for my dad’s 76th birthday and it was inhaled! Absolutely delicious and thank you for such a beautiful looking cake! Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: October 12, 2021 Thank you for making this recipe! I’m so happy to hear you and the family enjoyed it. Hope your dad had a wonderful birthday!