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Dessert

Fig Filling

A sweet fig filling made by simmering figs with sugar and water until syrupy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Fig Filling

Why it works: Fig and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,241 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Fig Filling

Ingredients

Directions

Make the filling

  1. In a saucepan, combine 2 cups of finely chopped figs, 1 cup of sugar, and a little water.

  2. Heat the mixture over medium heat until it boils and the syrup threads from the spoon.

  3. Remove from heat and let it cool until almost cool.

Use the filling

  1. Spread the filling between the layers of your cake or pastry.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. 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 the bulk, fruity flavor, and body of the filling as they break down.
Sugar
Sweetens the filling and, as it cooks, thickens it into a syrup that holds the figs together.

The step that matters

Heating until the syrup threads. Sugar must reach a concentrated syrup stage to thicken properly. Cooking too little leaves a runny filling, while cooking too long makes it stiff and sticky once cool. Watching for the syrup to thread from the spoon signals the right concentration.

“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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