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Dessert

Fig Filling, for Cake

A sweet filling made from figs, raisins, sugar, and hot water, boiled until thick.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Raisin and fig work together. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 737 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Fig Filling, for Cake

enough for two layers

Ingredients

Directions

Make the filling

  1. Chop the figs and combine with the seeded raisins in a pan.

  2. Add sugar and hot water, then boil until smooth and thick, stirring often.

  3. Remove from heat and let cool.

Assemble

  1. Spread the filling on the cake; this is enough for two layers.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Raisin + figtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together737 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,481 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Fig + sugartop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Figs
Provide bulk, sweetness and a thick, smooth body when cooked down.
Seeded raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy moisture to the filling.
Sugar
Sweetens the filling and helps it thicken into a spreadable texture.

The step that matters

Boil until smooth and thick, stirring often. Sugar and fruit thicken as water evaporates and pectin and starch set on cooling. Stirring often prevents scorching on the bottom of the pan and keeps the mixture smooth. Stop once it is thick enough to spread.

Swap the fig

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, sugar):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Figthe original
  3. Datesfits less well
  4. Applefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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