Fig and White Chocolate Matcha Donuts

NinjaBaker — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 20:32:08 +0000

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

Life is a mystery. The atrocities and the miracles leave me awe-struck. I marvel too how lore infused in foodstuffs have endured centuries. Why do some foods continue to carry symbolic meaning through time?

Parables in the Bible are rife with figs. Lessons in spiritual maturation are reflected upon in stories of trees barren of figs to those burgeoning with ripe fruit. The Song of Solomon – a tribute to love and a text sacred to both Jews and Christians – features the fig.

A fresh fig tart featured at the Food Bloggers Los Angeles Figology Fest II sponsored by the California Fig Advisory Board.
The recipe for this divine dessert and other fig wonders are available at
Judy Lyness' Two Broads Abroad.

In the time of Pliny (pal to Roman Emperor Vespasian, scientist and commander of the army, 52-113 AD), the fig was seen as a fruit that reduces wrinkles and restores health. Doctors today may not be promising figs as the next Botox but they are touting the fruit as an excellent source of fiber. And a good choice for those concerned with cholesterol.

Another heavenly fig treat featured at the Figology Fest II.
Erika Kerekes of In Erika's Kitchen and CEO of Not Ketchup concocted this
creamy deeeelicious Boozy Fig Milkshake.

Here are a few more fun fig facts presented by the California Fig Advisory Board. (California is responsible for 100% of the dried figs in the US and 98% of the nation's fresh figs.)

Green tea is great for drinking and turning into ice cream!
Click here for the recipe.

Japanese green tea is also said to fight cholesterol. The tea has antioxidants as well. (Doctors are in the early stages of discovery about green tea's impact on cancer cells.)

From centuries ago, matcha green tea is a beverage imbued with reverence in Japan. Uji, a town renowned for its green tea is featured in the Japanese classic, The Tale of Genji. (The world's first novel written by a Japanese female author, Murasaki Shikibu.) Genji, the Imperial playboy sips and engages in repartee replete with double entendres in a multitude of scenes.

My friend Mas' Japanese ceramics are exquisite and in-demand. He's a master of ceramics and a dedicated student of the Japanese tea ceremony.

In Japan, as ubiquitous as green tea is in everyday life, there is still a reverence for the drink. Coffee may be popular for a lighthearted chat. Serious negotiations and meetings, however, call for pomp and circumstance and the finest green tea. (That is an observation of one who as an executive assistant served countless cups of green tea to many a Japanese CEO and his colleagues.)

Fads like the greasers fashions and dancing to ‘50s music may delight many Japanese teens and 20 somethings pop up. Yet the respect for and the demand for the ancient art of the Japanese tea ceremony endures.

The Ninja Baker's Fig and White Chocolate Matcha Donut

In tribute to the enduring fig and the matcha green tea leaf, I created fig and white chocolate matcha donuts. Although I may not understand all the whys and wherefores of life, I do know a delicious combo of flavors for a donut. The ethereal matcha with its subtle bitterness balances the earthy sweet Cabernet flavored Mission fig. The rich black fig also adds a pleasing thin jam texture to the donut. White chocolate chips dot the donuts…But why stop there? Why not dunk the donuts in white chocolate ganache? Granted it makes for sticky finger food, but, fig and white chocolate matcha donuts make for one delicious dressed up donut.

Fig and White Chocolate Matcha Donuts

A soft kiss of a donut which flirts with the flavors of figs and matcha green tea. Black Mission figs add a gentle jam texture while the white chocolate chips adds a velvety touch of sweet.

Makes 18 donuts and 24 donut holes

Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa’s Food Network recipe.

Ingredients:

For the donuts:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 ¼ cups sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons green tea matcha
3 tablespoons white chocolate cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon fleur de sel (or table salt)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 small Black Mission figs, peeled, stems trimmed
2 cups white chocolate chips

For the white chocolate ganache:

½ cup heavy cream
2 packages (11 ounces) white chocolate chips

Directions:

For the donuts:

Prepare donut pans by spraying them with Baker’s Joy or similar product.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the butter (about 30 seconds in the microwave.) Allow to cool.
Sift together the flour, sugar, green tea matcha, white chocolate powder and salt into a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, butter, vanilla and figs together.
Create a well in the middle of the flour / matcha / white chocolate bowl. Pour in the contents of the fig bowl. Stir in the white chocolate chips.
Fill the ¾ full for donut pans or ½ full for the cake pop pans with the batter.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

For the white chocolate ganache:

Heat the heavy cream until tiny boiling bubbles appear.
Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate. Stir vigorously until the ganache is smooth and ready for dunking donuts!

Ninja Note: When coating the donuts with white chocolate, forks and fingers are handy utensils.

Sake wine cups are perfect for a sip of milk to accompany
a fig and white chocolate matcha donut hole.

Wishing you a week where all the puzzle pieces fit.

The Ninja Baker

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

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The Ninja Baker - Black Mission Figs

Fig and White Chocolate Matcha Donuts