Baked Figs With Honey And Whiskey Ice-Cream

Editor's note:Steve Reynolds' recipe and introductory text below are
excerpted from author Diana Henry's book The Gastropub Cookbook, a
guide to more than 150 dining pubs in Britain and Ireland. Chef
Reynolds also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with
Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page.

It's hard to believe that a Michelin-starred establishment would serve
a dessert that's this simple, but good cooking is about knowing when to
leave well enough alone. Steve prefers Irish whiskey for the ice-cream,
but you can use Scotch.

100 ml (3 1/2 fl oz) whiskey
140 ml (1/4 pint) full-fat milk
285 ml (1/2 pint) double cream
6 medium egg yolks
55 g (2oz) clear honey
Baked Figs

Heat a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add 75 ml (2 3/4 fl oz) of the
whisky and flame to burn off the alcohol. Once the flames have died
down, stir in the milk and cream. While this is coming to a boil, whisk
the egg yolks and honey together with a standing or handheld mixer
until they have doubled in size and become fluffy.
Take the milk and cream off the heat and pour half onto the egg
yolks. Whisk until combined, then put to one side.
Put the remainder of the milk and cream back onto the heat and, when
it is boiling, add the egg mixture, turn down the heat and whisk
constantly for approximately 1 minute.
Pour into a large bowl to lower the mixture's temperature and stir
in the last 25 ml (3/4 fl oz) whiskey. Cover and chill.
Once thoroughly cool, churn in an ice-cream machine. Alternatively,
pour into a freezerproof container, put in the freezer and beat every
20 minutes until set.
Place the warm figs in 6 shallow bowls or on 6 plates, pour over
some syrup and put a scoop of honey and whiskey ice-cream in the
centre.

Chef Steve Reynolds shares his tips:
.. Though many gourmet stores sell double cream, heavy cream can also
be substituted.
.. Don't have an ice cream maker? It takes muscle, but you can achieve
the same effect by beating the custard mixture every 20 minutes with a
wooden spoon. When Reynolds' machine broke one night, he and his staff
used this method to churn out five different flavors.

Serves 6


Baked Figs
This recipe is a component of Baked Figs with Honey and Whiskey
Ice-Cream.

15 fresh figs, halved
425 g (15 oz) Demerara (brown) sugar
750 ml (26 fl oz) port

Preheat the oven to 170 C / 325 F / gas mark 3.
Halve each fig lengthways through the stalk. Place the figs in a
baking dish and sprinkle evenly with the sugar and port. Bake for about
40 minutes, or until the figs are soft with a good thick syrup.

Serves 6


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