Fig ice cream

Fig ice cream

This delicios refreshing dessert Serves 8

Ingredients:

16 fresh (or 8 dried) figs

1/2 cup caster sugar (*or to taste)

1/2 cup water

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

2 1/2 cups Heavy cream

3-4 tsbp lemon juice

Trim the stem from the top of each fig and cut into eighths. Put them in a pan with the sugar, water and lemon zest. Cook over a moderate heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the liquid has reduced to a syrup and the figs have broken down to a jammy texture. Let it cool down.

To make the ice-cream base, put the figs into a blender and pour in the cream and lemon juice to taste. Mix until smooth and stop the machine once the mixture starts to thicken. Scrape it into an ice-cream machine and churn until almost firm. Scoop into a container and freeze until firm.

Remove the ice cream from the freezer 10-15 minutes before serving to allow it to soften a little.